A comparative move analysis of problem-solution discourse within risk management reports by Malaysian and American banks

Background and Purpose: A risk management report (henceforth, RMR) is a comprehensive document that analyses the risks faced by banks and outlines strategies to mitigate these risks. It follows an organising framework – the Problem-Solution (henceforth, PS) pattern which emphasises identifying problems and their solutions. Such a pattern is typically used in technical texts. This study shows how the said pattern is implemented in the organisational structure of RMRs from Malaysian and American banks. Methodology: The corpus data comprised two self-developed corpora of RMRs by selected Malaysian (henceforth, CORDMAB) and American banks (henceforth, CORDAB). The analysis was conducted within the framework of move analysis (henceforth, MA) which focuses on identifying the move-step structure and subsequently examining the patterns related to PS. Findings: The MA revealed five moves in CORDMAB and four moves in CORDAB. Despite having one less move, CORDAB were significantly longer than CORDMAB. Further investigation revealed CORDAB had a more consistent PS pattern. The difference was attributed to the requirements of regulatory bodies in both countries. Contributions: This study contributes to our understanding of RMRs by shedding light on their structure and content in the context of Malaysian and American banks. This comparative analysis provides valuable insights into how financial institutions in both countries approach risk assessment and mitigation strategies. It also offers potential implications for banking practices and risk management strategies on a broader scale. Keywords: American banks, Malaysian banks, problem-solution, rhetorical moves, risk management reports.