systemic risk

noun

: the risk that the failure of one financial institution (such as a bank) could cause other interconnected institutions to fail and harm the economy as a whole

Examples of systemic risk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When harm is assessed in isolation rather than in aggregate, systemic risk can remain hidden. —Nisha Narayanan, STAT, 5 June 2026

But that answer speaks to individual losses more than to the systemic risk critics raise. —Sean Lee, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

Banks compete fiercely across jurisdictions, connected in real time, with systemic risk from terrorism financing and financial crime that no single institution can contain. —Shlomit Wagman, Fortune, 30 May 2026

The biggest systemic risk in private credit markets comes from the asset-liability mismatch. —Krysta Escobar, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for systemic risk

• videodisc
• basilisk
• obelisk
• bisque
• brisk
• disc
• disk
• fisc
• fisk
• frisk
• whisk

Legal Definition

systemic risk

noun

sys·​tem·​ic risk sis-ˈte-mik- 

: the risk that the failure of one financial institution (as a bank) could cause other interconnected institutions to fail and harm the economy as a whole