Who would have imagined? At a time when the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbs above 15,000 for the first time and investor euphoria persists, trust in companies and their CEOs ranks near or at record lows. In this case, “rank” can serve as an adjective, too. Investors even have turned against the CEO who once could do no wrong, JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, urging him to surrender one of his roles as chairman and CEO because of some celebrated gaffes.

Have risk considerations become all of a sudden critical to decision making? Is this interest truthful or is it just an illusion? During the last couple of years so many CEOs and other Board level Directors talk about risk management in such an enthusiastic way. It seems that among the large Greek enterprises risk management has become one of the trendiest topics of the C-suite. Nowadays the annual reports of the large Greek companies all include a chapter on risk management. “Managing risks is a way of being more proactive and increases our ability to adapt effectively to a changing business environment”, says one, and “Managing risks and opportunities is a fundamentally important part of our Group’s long-term sustainability” argues the other. Amazingly there is not even one with a sign of a wolf in it. Is it possible this to be due to the fact that the cold, hard facts could make their stakeholders nervous?

Board Risk Blindness, Inadequate Leadership on Ethos and Culture, Risk “Glass Ceiling”: Those were among the underlying risks that would increase the likelihood of a crisis arising and/or the ability of the company to manage that crisis, in a report published by Airmic entitled “Roads to Ruin” that investigated the causes and subsequent management of a number of corporate crises. Eighteen high profile corporate crises of the last decade were investigated and companies involved in these crises including AIG, Arthur Andersen, BP, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, EADS Airbus, Enron, Firestone, Maclaren, Northern Rock, Shell and Société Générale. The research identified the key lessons associated with the failure to prevent each crisis and thereafter manage the consequences.

The strategic stakes in the Syrian conflict are rising. It now risks the stability of Syria’s neighbors and poses a direct security threat to the West, magnifying the risks to businesses that operate in the Middle East and those that rely on regional supply chains. Political Risk Insurance is a business insurance product that reimburses losses caused by social or political disruption in a country.

The collapse of Enron and other corporate scandals in the early 2000s and ever since demonstrate how imprudent company cultures can lead to unethical practices and outright fraud. The more recent implosion of Lehman Brothers showed how a culture of risk-taking permeated financial institutions and precipitated the global financial meltdown. A healthy risk culture gives employees a stake in risk management. Employees’ basic principles, values, and attitudes – as well as their understanding of how to deal with risk – shape a company’s risk culture. An appropriate risk culture is necessary for corporate risk management procedures to work effectively.

Forecasts of increased M&A activity, combined with a global economic climate where risk aversion is the name of the game, present an opportune moment for examining M&A insurance as a viable means of reducing risks in business transactions.