[elliekelly]

Nothing about bank risk management is easy. You haven’t accounted for a whole host of risks with this simple analysis, including the most important one: customer retention. The high-value customers sending high-value interbank transfers won’t be impressed that our systems let their wire go out the door incorrectly. Even if I can totally reverse the transaction (and it’s not nearly as easy or guaranteed as you’re assuming) I still have to tell the client about it in most cases. The client will, correctly, think “what if they can’t get it back next time this happens? I’ll find a bank that doesn’t have these kinds of issues.” And aside from crimes, losing a high-value client is perhaps the worst offense you can commit in banking.

Regardless of the dollar amount or outcome I also have to tell the audit committee, the board, the auditors, and all of my regulators. And exactly none of those groups would let me put your write-up along with the conclusion “risk accepted” in front of them.