Case Study · Banking & Financial Services
$800B Global Bank
How a VP of Vendor Risk Management gained global visibility and control over complex third-party risk with Fortrex.
The Challenge
As Vice President of Vendor Risk Management at an $800B global bank, this risk leader was accountable for overseeing third-party risk across thousands of vendors supporting critical banking operations, technology platforms, and regulated services across multiple regions.
Despite having an established TPRM framework, the bank struggled with the realities of operating at global scale. Vendor risk data was fragmented across regions and business lines, and visibility beyond Tier 1 vendors was limited.
“At our scale, the challenge is not having a program, it is proving that it works consistently across the entire organization.”
The most pressing challenges included:
- Incomplete visibility beyond Tier 1 vendors
- Hidden systemic dependencies across regions and services
- Difficulty mapping concentration risk and single points of failure
- Inconsistent risk tiering and due diligence depth across geographies
- Difficulty enforcing global standards without slowing the business
- Limited ability to identify critical subcontractors
- Challenges translating large volumes of vendor data into clear, actionable board reporting
- Heightened regulatory pressure related to DORA compliance and ICT risk controls
These challenges increased regulatory exposure and made it difficult to demonstrate defensible, enterprise-wide control over third-party risk.
The Solution
The bank partnered with Fortrex to strengthen its global Third-Party Risk Management operating model.
Fortrex worked directly with the VP of Vendor Risk Management to enhance visibility, consistency, and governance across the third-party lifecycle, without disrupting business operations.
“We needed a partner who understood global banking expectations and could help us operationalize them, not just document them.”
Fortrex supported the bank by:
- Establishing a centralized, enterprise view of vendor risk across regions
- Enhancing vendor tiering logic to consistently identify Critical, Material, and lower-risk vendors
- Strengthening due diligence standards while allowing regional flexibility
- Improving identification and oversight of critical subcontractors
- Supporting concentration risk analysis and dependency mapping
- Aligning TPRM controls with DORA and ICT risk requirements
- Improving board and executive-level reporting with decision-focused insights
Fortrex operated as a strategic extension of the bank's vendor risk function, helping translate regulatory expectations into scalable, real-world execution.
The Results
Improved visibility beyond Tier 1 vendors
The bank gained greater insight into third and fourth-party dependencies supporting critical services, reducing blind spots across the supply chain.
Clearer identification of concentration risk and systemic dependencies
Enhanced mapping and analysis enabled the bank to identify single points of failure and shared dependencies across regions and services.
Consistent risk tiering and assessment depth globally
Vendor tiering and due diligence practices were standardized while allowing controlled regional variation, improving consistency and defensibility.
Stronger alignment with DORA and ICT risk expectations
The bank strengthened oversight of ICT third-party risks, supporting regulatory compliance and operational resilience objectives.
Improved identification of critical subcontractors
Fortrex helped establish clearer expectations and processes for identifying and managing subcontractors that support important business services.
Actionable executive and board reporting
Vendor risk data was translated into concise, decision-ready insights, enabling leadership to focus on material risks and mitigation strategies.
Stronger governance without slowing the business
The enhanced TPRM model improved control and transparency while allowing business units to continue operating efficiently.
“Fortrex helped us move from managing vendor risk in silos to managing it as an enterprise risk. We now have the visibility and consistency regulators expect at our scale.”
Vice President, Vendor Risk Management
$800B Global Bank
Strengthen global vendor risk visibility
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