E-book

Fewer models. The same expectations.

Excel, in-house, or a dedicated platform for Model Risk Management, and why the trade-off looks different when your team is lean.
e-book Fewer models. The same expectations.
June 15, 2026
Model Risk Management
Model Validation

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E-book: Fewer Models. The Same Expectations. | Yields
What's inside

Fewer models does not mean less risk

A practical look at why lean model risk teams carry more exposure, not less, and how to weigh Excel, an in-house build, and a dedicated platform honestly against your own situation.

Why lean teams are exposed

Expectations do not scale down with a smaller model count, and a lean team has less room to absorb key-person risk, manual effort, and process gaps.

Weighing the three options

Excel, an in-house build, and a dedicated platform compared side by side, including the hidden cost of spreadsheets and how AI raises the bar regardless of size.

What a platform changes

The features that matter most for a lean team, and how two banks, America First Credit Union and Novobanco, made the shift in practice.

Making the decision

Six practical questions to evaluate continuity, audit readiness, and growth, plus a long-term view of what holds up as regulation and AI keep moving.

The guide at a glance

What staying manual quietly costs a lean team

~55
Hidden person-days a year, at just five models
3
Approaches compared: Excel, in-house, platform
12
Chapters across four parts
2
Bank case studies, from $12bn to €46bn in assets
Who it's for

Written for banks that manage model risk with a lean team

Not "how do you manage hundreds of models," but how much a small team can safely leave to spreadsheets and individual effort, and where the line actually sits.

Risk managers & CROs running a handful to a few dozen models, without a large dedicated function.
One or two-person risk teams currently carrying the entire framework themselves.
Compliance & audit leads who need documented, traceable, audit-ready oversight regardless of size.
Teams growing into AI using credit scoring, pricing, or fraud models bought in or built in-house.

About the

Author(s)

Jos Gheerardyn Yields
Jos Gheerardyn
CEO and Co-founder

Jos Gheerardyn is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Yields. Prior to his current role, he worked as both a manager and an analyst in the field of quantitative finance. With nearly 20 years of experience, he has worked with leading international investment banks and start-up companies. Jos is the author of multiple patents that apply quantitative risk management techniques to the energy balancing market. Jos holds a PhD in superstring theory from the University of Leuven.

Delphine Draelants Yields
Delphine Draelants
Director of Customer Success

Delphine Draelants has four years of experience spearheading validation teams at top-tier financial institutions. Her extensive knowledge and passion for model risk management has helped various organisations efficiently streamline their processes and meet their goals. Today, Delphine works at Yields as the Customer Success Director.

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