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September 05, 2008

PRMIA Announces a New Chapter in Bahrain

PRMIA announces today a new regional chapter in Bahrain.

Kalyan Sunderam, Chief Risk Officer and Deputy CEO of Bahraini Saudi Bank, was appointed Regional Director of the Bahrain chapter. Kalyan has been a member of PRMIA since 2002 and holds the Professional Risk Manager Certification. He is a member of the PRMIA C-Suite and also a volunteer on the Global Event Series Advisory Committee.

PRMIA wishes Kalyan success in his new role.

Posted by kgittins at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2008

Join the New PRMIA Chapter in Bucharest

On July 11, 2008 PRMIA announced a new chapter in Bucharest, Romania. Co-Regional Directors, Athanasios Papanikolaou and Valentin Mazareanu, will be leading the chapter. Their goals and mission of the chapter include holding local events that will raise awareness of the importance of risk management, promoting the PRM Certification and enhancing communication between risk professionals, practitioners and regulators.

PRMIA invites you to be apart of this new chapter by editing your member profile.

Login to your member profile and under the welcome message click "manage my profile". Click on the "edit profile" link, select the Bucharest chapter and press the update button at the bottom of the page. You will now receive news and notices of events for the Bucharest chapter.

Posted by kgittins at 08:38 AM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2008

PRMIA Announces a New Chapter in Bucharest

PRMIA announces today a new chapter in Bucharest, Romania.

PRMIA appoints Athanasios Papanikolaou and Valentin Mazareanu as Co-Regional Directors of PRMIA Bucharest. Athanasios and Valentin goals and mission of the chapter include holding local events that will raise awareness of the importance of risk management, promoting the PRM Certification and enhancing communication between risk professionals, practitioners and regulators.

Athanasios Papanikolaou is a Risk Consultant with Ernst & Young Southeast Europe and has been a PRMIA member since 2006. Athanasios has obtained a certificate in "Strategic Decisions and Risk Management" from Stanford University as well as an MSc degree in Operational Research and has an excellent knowledge in risk management.

Valentin Mazareanu is currently a PhD student with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Al. I. Cuza University in Iasi. The subject of his thesis is risk management in the new economy. He has an MSc degreee in Business Information Systems and some industry experience as founder and general manager of Paideia Consulting SRL Iasi.

Posted by kgittins at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2008

PRMIA Appoints New Regional Director to the Toronto Chapter

PRMIA appoints today a new Regional Director to the Toronto chapter.

Graham Pugh will be replacing Dan Rosen as Regional Director of the Toronto Chapter. Graham has been a member of PRMIA since March 2004 and was an active member of the Toronto Steering Committee. Graham is the VP and Head of Risk Management and Portfolio Strategy at Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Toronto.

PRMIA would like to take this opportunity to thank Dan Rosen for his invaluable contributions to the Toronto chapter and PRMIA. Dan was one of the founding Regional Directors of PRMIA and has served the local members since 2002. Dan will continue to support the local chapter as a member of the Toronto Steering Committee.

Posted by kgittins at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

Call for Speakers

The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) announces a call for presenters for its third Global Event Series. The series will be held throughout the month of September 2008 and will focus on the theme of Operational Risk and Capital Allocation.

Twenty chapters will be holding events throughout the global PRMIA chapter network. These events include morning, afternoon, evening and all day programs. We are seeking high level presenters who can share best practices, effective strategies and current thinking in the field of Risk Management for these chapter events on the theme of Operational Risk and Capital Allocation.

The PRMIA regional chapters that need your support are listed on the speaker application. Speakers can submit presentations for more than one chapter. Speakers will be matched with the Regional Director of the chapter(s) where they wish to speak. Regional Directors will coordinate directly with speakers on preferred format, length of speech and other needed arrangements. PRMIA does not pay speaker fees, per diem or honoraria.

If you are interested in presenting at the third Global Event Series, please submit a speaker application to katie.gittins@prmia.org by the 30th of May. Applications must be submitted in English. Presentations may be delivered in other languages, depending on the preference of the regional chapter.

For further information about the Global Event Series, please visit www.prmia.org/globaleventseries.

Please address any questions to Katie.Gittins@prmia.org

Posted by kgittins at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2008

PRMIA Congratulates MFA Best Paper Award Winners

PRMIA Institute would like to congratulate Roger Lee from the University of Chicago and Peter Carr from New York University for receiving the Midwest Finance Association's (MFA) Best Paper Award in Derivatives for their paper entitled "Robust Replication of Volatility Derivatives." The award, which was sponsored by PRMIA Institute, was presented at the recent MFA Annual Meeting. Lloyd Blenman, MFA Program Chair, says, "These authors are world-class researchers, and we are proud that they submitted their paper to our conference."

Posted by PRMIA_Marketing at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

New Regional Chapter in Kuala Lumpur

PRMIA announces today the appointment of Dr. Joseph Eby Ruin as the Regional Director of a new chapter in Kuala Lumpur!

Dr. Ruin is the Founder and Proprietor of RiskFirst Consultancy and Training Services in Kuala Lumpur.

PRMIA wishes him success in his new role and we look forward to seeing future activity in Malaysia.

Posted by kgittins at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2008

New Co-Regional Director of Montreal

PRMIA announces today the new Co-Regional Director of Montreal, Faruk Patel. Faruk is the Vice President of Compliance and Risk Management at State Street Global Advisors Ltd (Canada). He has been a PRMIA member since February 2002 and also holds the PRM.

Faruk and Co-Regional Director David Streliski have an exciting vision for the Montreal chapter. The new Montreal chapter bylaws have recently been posted, you can view them by visiting the Montreal Chapter website.

Posted by kgittins at 01:24 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2007

PRMIA Appoints New Co-Regional Director to the Philippines Chapter

PRMIA announces today a new Co-Regional Director of the Philippines regional chapter. Eloisa Mariano joins the current Regional Director Sofia Ladores to lead the Philippines regional chapter. Eloisa is the Assistant Vice President and Head of Statistical Analysis and Market Risk Management Division/CRMG of UnionBank of the Philippines in Manila. She has been a member of PRMIA since October 2004.

PRMIA wishes Eloisa success in her new role.

Posted by kgittins at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2007

New PRMIA Chapter Vienna holds Kick-off Event

PRMIA is pleased to announce a new regional chapter in Vienna.

The chapter held a very successful kick-off event on December 3rd, 2007 at Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG, with 60 risk professionals in attendance.

Vienna Regional Director Kurt Blecha started the evening with an overview of PRMIA and the Chapter’s main goals. Oscar McCarthy, Regional Director Amsterdam who attended as an international PRMIA representative, provided a global perspective of PRMIA as well as taking a more detailed look at PRM Certification. Key speaker Thomas Gross, Board Member and Chief Risk Officer of Bank Austria, discussed active portfolio management from a board members perspective. The second key speaker for the evening, Paul Kocher, Board Member and Chief Treasury & Chief Capital Markets Officer of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank International AG, presented on the risks for investors in the South Eastern region of Europe. Presenters and delegates attended a reception after the event, where members were able to socialize and network. The kick-off event set the standard high for the new chapter and members left with high expectations.

PRMIA would like to congratulate the Vienna chapter on the success of their first event!

Want to know more about what the Vienna chapter is doing? Edit your member profile and sign up to the chapter today!

Posted by kgittins at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)

Welcome Sai Sireesh and Ed Dumas as New Regional Directors

PRMIA welcomes two new Regional Directors today!

Sai Sireesh will be joining Seth Shapiro as Co-Regional Director of the Seattle Chapter. Sai has been a very active member of PRMIA since 2003. He was the former Co-Regional Director of Singapore and is a member of the Regional Director Support and Standards Committee. Sai is the Director and Global Head of Risk Management and Compliance Strategy of the Financial Services Industry at Microsoft Corporation.

Ed Dumas is replacing Debbie Williams as Regional Director of the Boston Chapter. Ed has been a member of PRMIA since 2003 and is a very active Steering Committee member of the Boston chapter. He is also a volunteer on the Advisory Committee of the Global Event Series. Ed is the SVP & Director of Global Treasury Risk Management at State Street.

Posted by kgittins at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

November 26, 2007

Congratulations and Welcome New Regional Directors of Sweden and Vienna

PRMIA would like to extend a warm welcome to the new Regional Directors of Sweden and Vienna.

Cecilia Ardstom will be taking over the Regional Director role of Sweden from Lars Soderlind. Cecilia has been a member of PRMIA since 2002.

Kurt Blecha will be leading the new chapter of Vienna as Regional Director. Kurt is a Partner at Deloitte and has been a member of PRMIA since 2003. Kurt and the Vienna Steering Committee will be launching the new chapter with a kick off event December 3rd, 2007.

We wish Cecilia and Kurt the best of luck and success in their new role.

Posted by kgittins at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2007

Elections Results

The Special Meeting of Members for the purpose of electing Board Members was held at 1700 GMT at the offices of Lepus, 46 Bow Lane, London, UK. No proxy votes or objections were received at the meeting.

The results were:

Americas

David Streliski — 47% of the votes cast for this region
James Tunkey — 29%
Peter Brown — 24%

Asia

Sunando Roy — 71% of the votes cast for this region
Antonius Alljoyo — 29%

EMEA

David Rowe — 91% of the votes cast for this region

David Streliski (director re-standing for election), Sunando Roy, and David Rowe are Directors of PRMIA with immediate effect.

Posted by mike.bollinger at 09:41 AM

October 18, 2007

PRMIA Minneapolis Announces Stephen Lindo as New Regional Director

PRMIA Minneapolis today announced the appointment of Stephen Lindo as its new Regional Director. Mr. Lindo is currently the Vice President, Risk Capital Management, GMAC Enterprise Risk Services. He has more than 30 years of experience in the banking and financial industries, including 20 years of risk management experience. He has a Bachelor and Masters degree from Oxford University, London.

Each of PRMIA's 64 chapters is led by a volunteer Regional Director who is responsible for hosting chapter meetings, regularly contacting their chapter members, and contributing to the global PRMIA organization.

"I am looking forward to my new role as Regional Director. I am committed to growing the membership of PRMIA Minneapolis, offering new opportunities for existing members, and working with other PRMIA chapters around the world," says Mr. Lindo. He adds, "The chapter is currently planning an event on credit risk in February 2008 as a part of the PRMIA Global Event Series. This will be followed by an Enterprise Risk Management event in April."

Risk management professionals interested in becoming a member of the PRMIA Minneapolis Chapter may do so by becoming a member of PRMIA today. Visit the PRMIA website at www.prmia.org for more information on membership. Current PRMIA members who wish to join the Minneapolis chapter may log into their PRMIA account and edit their profile at http://prmia.org/index.php?page=membership&option=membershipProfile.

Posted by PRMIA_Marketing at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2007

PRMIA Aims to Enhance Risk Industry in Japan

PRMIA today announced the addition of PRMIA Tokyo as its first chapter in Japan. Koichi Dezuka, Senior Manager with Ernst & Young in the RAS (Risk Advisory Services for Financial Services) as well as the Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services globally, is the Regional Director of the new PRMIA Tokyo Chapter.

Mr. Dezuka shares the goals of the PRMIA Tokyo chapter, "Our goal is to enhance the risk management culture in Japan. Initially, we will hold Professional Risk Manager (PRM) Exam Study Groups and schedule risk management seminars." He adds, "During 2008 we plan to hold major risk management events and begin to collaborate with other PRMIA chapters around the globe."

Koichi Dezuka has over 15 years of experience in the risk management area, specializing in financial / operational / regulatory risk management. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Dezuka worked at a top consulting firm for three years and major financial firms for 12 years as a risk manager. He is a well-known professional in operational risk and enterprise-wide risk services for bank, insurance, and securities firms. He holds a bachelor of arts in economics, Keio University, Japan as well as a CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) in the United States.

Mr. David Millar, PRMIA Chief Operating Officer, says, "Our membership in Japan is growing at an impressive rate, and we will soon begin making a considerable impact on the risk management community through our chapter and educational activities." He adds, "Mr. Dezuka has a strong vision for the chapter and will be an effective and innovative leader."

Risk management professionals interested in becoming a member of the PRMIA Tokyo Chapter may do so by becoming a member of PRMIA today. Visit the PRMIA website at www.prmia.org for more information on membership. Current PRMIA members who wish to join the Tokyo chapter may log into their PRMIA account and edit their profile at http://prmia.org/index.php?page=membership&option=membershipProfile.

Posted by PRMIA_Marketing at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)

September 28, 2007

PRMIA and McGraw-Hill Professional Announce PRMIA Risk Management Book Series

PRMIA today announced that it has signed an agreement with McGraw-Hill Professional, a global publisher in the financial services, education, and business information markets, to publish the PRMIA Risk Management Series.

Under this agreement, McGraw-Hill Professional will re-issue and revise Volume I of the PRM Handbook, the official handbook for the PRM certification and a comprehensive guide to current theory and best practices in risk management. Replacing Volume I of the PRM Handbook are three new books in the series:

* The Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Finance Theory
* The Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Financial Instruments
* The Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Financial Markets

In addition, McGraw Hill Professional will re-issue PRMIA's Energy and Environmental Markets book as the Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Energy Markets.

These four books will release in December 2007. Tentative plans are to issue second editions of the PRM Handbook Volume II and Volume III by late 2008.

"The PRM Handbook is in use in over 120 countries, at all of the top financial service companies and is core reading material at several graduate programs in risk management," says David Koenig, President of the PRMIA Institute and Past Chair, PRMIA Board of Directors. "Our new series with McGraw-Hill Companies will extend the reach of our existing publications, and bring new texts, all written to a higher standard, to the risk marketplace."

"McGraw-Hill and PRMIA share the goal of providing financial professionals with must-have information from the world's leading risk practitioners," says Jeanne Glasser, editorial director of McGraw-Hill Professional.

Going forward, PRMIA and McGraw-Hill Companies are targeting four to six new publications every year. PRMIA's Academic Advisory Council will provide recommendations for new titles and authors.

Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals, with more than 60 chapters around the world and nearly 45,000 members from 180 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 2,000 active candidates in over 90 countries. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

McGraw-Hill Professional is a leading global provider of print and electronic content and services for consumers and the business, scientific, technical, and medical communities. Its offerings include consumer, business, and technical reference books and online solutions on medical and health, engineering, and scientific topics. Headquartered in New York, the company has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Camden, Maine. McGraw-Hill Professional's many imprints and brands include: Schaum's, International Marine, and Osborne. For more information, visit http://www.mhprofessional.com

McGraw-Hill Professional is a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

Posted by PRMIA_Marketing at 01:07 PM | Comments (2)

September 25, 2007

PRMIA to Introduce Global Event Series in 35 Cities Around the World

PRMIA today announced that it will launch the PRMIA Global Event Series in February 2008. The PRMIA Global Event Series includes large one-day conferences held in major European, North American, and Asian Markets to anchor the series. In addition, events will be organized in more than 30 other global markets through PRMIA chapter meetings.

The series will unite PRMIA's membership and chapter network with a focused examination of risk issues around four themes throughout the year. "The PRMIA Global Event Series will provide an excellent opportunity for PRMIA members worldwide to be connected through the examination of a specific risk-related theme," says David Millar, PRMIA Chief Operating Officer. "Members will have the chance to hear from industry-leading experts and share with each other through discussions of current best practices in risk management."

Prior to each themed month, PRMIA will conduct a survey of its members on the event topic. A report highlighting the survey results will be written and published as part of the event series.

PRMIA chapters worldwide will host events, including full day conferences in the following cities.

February
Credit Risk
Beijing, London, New York

April
Enterprise Risk Management
Chicago, Mumbai, Paris

September
Operational Risk and Capital Allocation
Hong Kong, London, New York

November
Valuation in an Environment of High Complexity & Liquidity Risk
New York, Paris, Singapore

Check the PRMIA website at www.prmia.org in mid-October for updated information on each of the events, as well as detailed registration instructions.

Posted by dkoenig at 01:48 PM | Comments (3)

September 21, 2007

PRMIA Institute Partners With George Washington University to Offer Course in Professional Risk Management

The PRMIA Institute today announced that it will offer a complete course in Professional Risk Management in conjunction with the George Washington University School of Business. The course will be offered in eight individually bookable sessions on Thursday evenings, January 17 – June 19, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the George Washington University School of Business.

This intensive program, led by faculty of one of the world’s top business schools, provides delegates with a broad and solid foundation of knowledge that will prepare them to effectively practice risk management. “Risk education has taken a center stage recently, given the current credit-crunch problems in the financial markets. These problems in large part have resulted from the improper use of risk-related tools and instruments for risk taking instead of risk management,” says Robert Savickas, Ph.D., Associate Professor, George Washington University. “To help increase the awareness of the correct applications of risk-management techniques, PRMIA Institute and GWSB have partnered to exploit the expertise of our faculty and leading Washington, DC area risk professionals to provide such education.”

PRMIA is also pleased to announce that it is again partnering with Columbia Business School to offer the Professional Risk Management course that was first held during spring 2007. This course will be held on Wednesday evenings, January 9 - May 28, from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the Midtown Executive Club in New York.

"The expansion of our Complete Course program to Washington, DC is an exciting development for PRMIA members in that area. Our partnerships with Columbia Business School and the Business School of The George Washington University reflect the commitment that the PRMIA Institute has to setting a higher standard in risk education, said David R. Koenig, President of the PRMIA Institute and past Chair, Board of Directors, PRMIA.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2007

Top PRM Candidates in Second Quarter Come From Germany, India, Hong Kong and the US

We extend our congratulations to the following candidates for the PRM certification program who have attained the top scores globally during the second quarter of 2007:

Exam I - Finance Theory, Financial Instruments and Markets

Pranav Dheeraj Gundlapalle, Chennai, India

Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement

Shibashish Bhattacharjee, Nagpur, India
Harjeet Singh, Mumbai, India
Ashish Kumar Singh, Rourkela, Inda
Maxwell Brothers, Ewing, NJ, USA
Man Chun Yau, Hong Kong
Pranav Dheeraj Gundlapalle, Chennai, India

Exam III - Risk Management Best Practices

Man Chun Yau, Hong Kong

Exam IV - Case Studies, Governance, Conduct

Stefan Kuball, Munich, Germany

Candidates who attain the top score for the entire year on any of the four exams of the PRM certification program are recognized with the PRM Focus Award. Top candidates overall are recognized through the annual PRM Candidate of the Year program.

Posted by dkoenig at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)

Six Candidates Earn Perfect Scores on PRM Exams in Second Quarter of 2007

Congratulations to the following PRM candidates who earned perfect scores on one of the exams of the PRM certification program during the second quarter of 2007:

Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement

Shibashish Bhattacharjee, Nagpur, India
Harjeet Singh, Mumbai, India
Ashish Kumar Singh, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Rourkela, India
Maxwell Brothers, Ewing, NJ, USA
Man Chun Yau, HSBC Insurance, Hong Kong
Pranav Dheeraj Gundlapalle, Irevna Research Services Limited, Chennai, India

PRM candidates come from over 95 countries around the world. Successful candidates pursuing the PRM demonstrate themselves as the higher standard holders among risk professionals.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:21 AM | Comments (2)

August 16, 2007

PRMIA CSuite to Address Current Issues in Market and Credit Risk

PRMIA New York is organizing at short notice a closed door meeting for members of our "C-Suite" to discuss current issues relating to Market & Credit Risk.

This meeting is restricted to PRMIA C-Suite members for a not-for-attribution discussion of current market conditions. PRMIA C-Suite membership is limited to practitioners who are C-Level officers or direct reports to C-level officers.

To apply for PRMIA C-Suite membership, please send your PRMIA username, CV and full contact information to csuite@prmia.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2007

Announcing the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions

PRMIA today announced its working partnership with Henry Stewart Publications in the launch of Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions (JRMFI), an official journal of PRMIA.

With a release date scheduled for September 2007, the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions is a quarterly professional and research journal for all those directly involved in or concerned with the management of strategic and business risk, financial risk, operational risk, regulatory risk and systemic risk in the finance sector. Each issue will include detailed and authoritative briefings, analysis, case studies, research, and reviews by leading practitioners in the field. PRMIA will supplement the journal contents with Webinars featuring journal authors and editorial board members, free to full Sustaining Members. All PRMIA full Sustaining Memberships will include an annual subscription to the online version of JRMFI.

David Koenig, PRMIA Executive Director, says "The Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions is another major step forward in PRMIA’s ongoing mission to advance the practice of risk management globally. Our focus on connecting research and practice is well-served by the content of the JRMFI and will be further enhanced as we add even more titles to our publication library in the near future."

"Henry Stewart Publications is delighted to be working in partnership with the Professional Risk Managers' International Association in the publication of Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions," says Daryn Moody, Managing Director, Henry Stewart Publications, London. "Guided by its distinguished Editorial Board, Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions provides a peer-reviewed forum for the publication of briefings and papers on new thinking and developments, and best practice in the management of risk. The Journal's overriding mission is to address the practical concerns of risk professionals, rigorously. As such, Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions will offer a major new resource to PRMIA members, helping to develop the risk management profession worldwide."

Posted by dkoenig at 01:51 PM | Comments (5)

June 28, 2007

PRMIA Aims to Impact Risk Management Industry in Hyderabad

Hyderabad recently became the newest PRMIA chapter in India, joining those already established in Bangalore and Mumbai.

Dr. Yerram Raju Behara, a distinguished banker-turned economist and management consultant, is the Hyderabad Chapter's Regional Director. Dr. Raju shares the goals of the chapter, "We will strive to be the voice of the risk management industry in India, a leader of industry opinion and a proponent for the risk management profession." He adds, "We have established a strong steering committee of professional bankers, insurance and industry representatives, and academics to lead our chapter and help us achieve our goals." The Chapter Steering Committee is chaired by Mr. Amitabha Guha, Managing Director of the State Bank of Hyderabad.

Dr. Raju is the Director (Projects & Research), Development & Research Services P Ltd and until recently, Director of Indian Institute of Economics and Editor, Asian Economic Review, a reputed publishing window of the Institute. His earlier occupations included Senior Management Executive with the State Bank of India for nearly three decades, Professor of Economics, LBS National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie and Dean of Studies, Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) for a decade. He is also the visiting Professor of Finance and Economics to Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur (Andhra Pradesh). Dr. Raju is a prolific writer with more than 500 articles published in all the leading financial dailies and leading national and international journals.

Mr. David Millar, PRMIA Chief Operating Officer, says, "Our membership in India is growing at an impressive rate. We are making a considerable impact on the risk management community through our chapter and educational activities." He adds, "Dr. Raju has a strong vision for the chapter and will be an effective and innovative leader."

Risk management professionals interested in becoming a member of the PRMIA Hyderabad chapter may visit the PRMIA Hyderabad Web site at or via e-mail at Hyderabad@prmia.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 06:30 AM | Comments (5)

June 25, 2007

NUS Risk Management Institute to Offer PRM Training Course in Singapore

We're pleased to annouonce that the NUS Risk Management Institute at the National University of Singapore will implement Professional Risk Manager (PRM) Certification Training Program beginning in July 2007. The PRM certification program is the global standard for the world's top financial risk professionals. Endorsed by leading businesses and leading graduate university programs, it counts candidates from more countries than any other program for risk managers.

Dr. Ng Kah Hwa, Deputy Director NUS Risk Management Institute says, "The PRMIA Certification Training Program specifically prepares professionals in the finance industry for the rigorous examinations of the PRM certification. It will enhance the standard and professionalism of risk management in the finance industry."

"As the financial sector becomes increasingly sophisticated, risk management plays the dual role of maintaining the safety and soundness of banks, as well as the development of new innovative financial products, adds Mr. Ng Nam Sin, Executive Director (Financial Centre Development Department), Monetary Authority of Singapore. "The PRM Certification Training Program is a key initiative that will help advance risk management capabilities and promote sound risk management practices in Singapore."

"We are delighted to work with NUS on this certification program," says Paul Gwee, PRMIA Singapore Regional Director. "With the highly recognized academic standards of NUS and PRMIA's robust program, our candidates will be in the best position to achieve the PRM certification."

The training classes will be held on Saturday mornings over a period of four months, from 14 July 2007 until 17 Nov 2007. Classes are offered in three parts that correspond with the first three PRM exams. To learn more about the certification program, you may visit the RMI Web site. To learn more about the PRM exam, click here.

The NUS Risk Management Institute (RMI) was founded in August 2006 as a university-level research institute at NUS. The establishment of RMI is supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under its Programme on Risk Management and Financial Innovation.

Posted by dkoenig at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

May 31, 2007

PRMIA New York Offers Risk Management Professionals a Look Into the Evolving Role of Technology Solutions

PRMIA New York will host the Frontiers in Technology Forum on Tuesday, June 12. This event is intended to educate risk professionals and stimulate discussion about the challenges and opportunities created by technology, current trends, and forward-thinking solutions.

The day's program includes key regulators, practitioners from small hedge funds to the world's largest financial institutions, and the developers of new technology solutions. The event is valuable for anyone in the risk management field who manages the risk of technology or who relies on technology to manage risk.

"The Frontiers in Technology Forum provides an excellent opportunity for the full spectrum of risk professionals to get a high-level briefing on how technology will affect their future," says James Tunkey, Regional Director, PRMIA New York. "Attendees will take away winning strategies for managing today's technology risks and insight into how technology will impact market, credit, and other risk management in the years ahead."

The Frontiers in Technology Forum will be held from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Harvard Club of New York City, located at 35 W. 44th Street. The cost is $475 for free members and non-members, with sustaining members paying $325. This event is proudly sponsored by Asset Control, IBM, SunGard, and Teradata. To register, click here, or call 917-421-9651. A full event brochure can be downloaded here.

Posted by dkoenig at 01:37 AM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2007

Vinayak Kamat Named 2007 PRM Candidate of the Year

Vinayak Kamat, of HSBC Software Development India, in Pune, has been named the 2007 PRM Candidate of the Year.

Mr. Kamat was chosen from those nominated for this award based on his excellent exam scores, top ranking among candidates who answered five essay questions and his performance during a telephone interview of five finalists.

"This is a highly prestigious award, identifying the best of the best among our PRM holders," said David R. Koenig, Executive Director of PRMIA. "We were highly impressed by Vinayak and congratulate him on this international recognition."

Past winners of the PRM Candidate of the Year Award include:

Francois Bourdon, Quantitative Strategist, Fiera Capital, Montreal, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Tan You Leong, Business Manager, Group Risk Management, OCBC Bank, Singapore, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Rene Sanda, Director, Banco do Brasil, Brasilia, (2005 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Elizabeth Castagna, Associate Director Investment Compliance, Fidelity International, Pembroke, (2006 PRM Candidate of the Year)

This year's nominees included:

Li-Ming Chen, Taipei Fubon Bank, Taipei, Taiwan
Kristian Greisen, Nykredit Bank, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sian Hwee Ong, Reuters Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore
Konstantin Zukker, Algorithmics, Toronto, Canada
Sau Kei Li, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Vinayak Kamat, HSBC Software Development India Private Limited, Pune, India
Tomasz Kubiak, Banking - Bank Pekao SA, Warsaw, Poland
Aviel Yukelson, Gutmark, Radtke & Company AG, Frankfurt, Germany
Graeme West, Financial Modelling Agency, Parktown North, South Africa
Roman Jarocki, KPMG, London, United Kingdom
Bjoern Huether, VersAM Versicherungs-Assetmanagement GmbH, Muenster, Germany

The finalists for this award included Vinayak and:

Konstantin Zukker, Algorithmics, Toronto, Canada
Sau Kei Li, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Kristian Greisen, Nykredit Bank, Copenhagen, Denmark
Roman Jarocki, KPMG, London, United Kingdom

The review committee who selected the winners included:

Oscar McCarthy, Risk Manager, ABN Amro Bank NV, Amsterdam, (PRMIA Education and Standards Committee)
Francois Bourdon, Quantitative Strategist, Fiera Capital, Montreal, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Tan You Leong, Business Manager, Group Risk Management, OCBC Bank, Singapore, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Krzysztof Jajuga, Professor, Wroclaw University of Economics, Wroclaw, (PRMIA Education and Standards Committee)
Elizabeth Castagna, Associate Director Investment Compliance, Fidelity International, Pembroke, (2006 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Rene Sanda, Director, Banco do Brasil, Brasilia, (2005 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Sai Sireesh, Director & Global Head, Risk Mgmt. & Compliance Strategy & Solutions, Microsoft Corp, Financial Services Group, Seattle, (Former Regional Director, PRMIA Singapore)
Karina Carrero, RD PRMIA Venezuela, PRMIA, Caracas, (Regional Director, PRMIA Venezuela)
Nawal Roy, Vice President, Moody\'s Investor\'s Service, Jersey City, (PRMIA Education and Standards Committee)
Kostas Giannopolis, Professor, the British University in Dubai, Dubai, (Regional Director, PRMIA UAE)
Paul Gwee, Senior Vice President, United Overseas Bank Group, Singapore, (Regional Director, PRMIA Singapore)

A listing of all past award winners can be found by clicking here.

Posted by dkoenig at 08:06 AM | Comments (10)

May 18, 2007

Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance Selects PRM Certification for Training Program - David Rowe Opens Seminar

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance has chosen the PRM certification as the one around which to build its training program for risk managers. PRMIA Education and Standards Committee co-Chair, Dr. David Rowe, was on hand for the launch of this program.

"First of all many thanks to PRMIA and to David Koenig, David Rowe and David Miller for making this happen at the BIBF," said Dr. Subhadra Ganguli, Senior Lecturer, Banking Learning Center at BIBF. "We had a good response from the industry and we have many candidates registered for our preparatory course starting on May 19th."

Mr. Hussain Al Ajmi, Division Head, Learning Centers, at the BIBF said "The vast majority of banks and other financial institutions are realizing the importance of risk management in all aspects of their operations. Bahrain needs to develop a pool of professionals in this area. BIBF is working to fulfil the needs of the industry to that effect."

Dr Ganguli stressed the importance of risk management in protecting banks, and financial systems, against financial crisis which could lead to collapse. "Risk management is no longer an option. Identifying and efficiently managing risk is equally important for maximizing profits and returns to shareholders," she said.

The new BIBF programme, the PRM, is aimed at preparing a new breed of high caliber risk management professionals, who can capably steer their respective institutions to even higher levels of success

The PRM certification was selected after a rigorous review of alternatives for risk professionals. It was identified as the best program, continuing the adoption and recognition of the PRM as the true global standard for financial risk professionals.

"We're very pleased to see the PRM be recognized by BIBF and are particularly pleased that the choice of the PRM came about after a thorough review by leading risk management executives in Bahrain," said David R. Koenig, PRMIA's Executive Director.

The PRM certification is the higher standard for risk professionals. It is the only risk certification program to have received numerous public endorsements by leading university programs and business serving the risk profession. More than 2,000 candidates in over 90 countries are pursuing the PRM.

For more information on the BIBF program contact the BIBF Banking Learning Center team on Tel: 17815555, Fax: 17729928 or E-mail: infodesk@bibf.com

More news on this program can be found by clicking here.

Posted by dkoenig at 05:06 AM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2007

PRM Candidate of the Year Finalists and Award of Merit Winners Announced

The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) today announced the winners of the 2007 PRM Award of Merit and the finalists for the 2007 PRM Candidate of the Year Award.

The finalists for the PRM Candidate of the Year Award were selected by a committee of academic and professional leaders from around the globe. The selections were based on the candidates' performance on the exams of the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program and their responses to a set of essay questions regarding risk management culture and application. The finalists named today are:

Kristian Greisen, Nykredit Bank, Copenhagen, Denmark
Konstantin Zukker, Algorithmics, Toronto, Canada
Sau Kei Li, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Vinayak Kamat, HSBC Software Development India Private Limited, Pune, India
Roman Jarocki, KPMG, London, United Kingdom

In addition to naming the finalist for the 2007 PRM Candidate of the Year Award, PRMIA announced that the following holders of the PRM designation have been awarded the 2007 PRM Award of Merit for their performance on the exams of the program:

Li-Ming Chen, Taipei Fubon Bank, Taipei, Taiwan
Sian Hwee Ong, Reuters Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore
Tomasz Kubiak, Banking - Bank Pekao SA, Warsaw, Poland
Aviel Yukelson, Gutmark, Radtke & Company AG, Frankfurt, Germany
Graeme West, Financial Modelling Agency, Parktown North, South Africa
Bjoern Huether, VersAM Versicherungs-Assetmanagement GmbH, Muenster, Germany

The committee members who selected the finalists include:

The winner of the PRM Candidate of the Year Award will be announced during the week of May 21st, 2007.

Posted by dkoenig at 04:31 AM | Comments (0)

May 01, 2007

Top PRM Candidates in First Quarter of 2007 Come From Canada, France, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore

We extend our congratulations to the following candidates for the PRM certification program who have attained the top scores globally during the first quarter of 2007:

Exam I - Finance Theory, Financial Instruments and Markets

Luc Gregoire, Quebec, Canada
Bernd Schuster, BayernLB, Munich, Germany
Philippe Vacher, Basler Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, Basel, Switzerland

Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement

Maria El Khomsi, IXIS AM, Paris, France
Kianli Lim, Credit Suisse, Singapore, Singapore
Sebastien Forte', HEC Montreal, Montreal, Canada

Exam III - Risk Management Best Practices

Sebastien Forte', HEC Montreal, Montreal, Canada

Exam IV - Case Studies, Governance, Conduct

Christoph Janssen, Vinhedo, Brazil

Posted by dkoenig at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

Four Candidates Earn Perfect Scores on PRM Exams in First Quarter of 2007

Congratulations to the following PRM candidates who earned perfect scores on one of the exams of the PRM certification program during the first quarter of 2007:

Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement

Maria El Khomsi, Risk Manager, IXIS AM, Paris, France
Kianli Lim, Product Control, Credit Suisse, Singapore, Singapore
Sebastien Forte', M.Sc. Financial Engineering Student, HEC Montreal, Montreal, Canada

Exam IV - Governance, Case Studies, Ethics and Best Practices

Christoph Janssen, Rating Specialist, Vinhedo, Brazil

PRM candidates come from over 90 countries around the world. Successful candidates pursuing the PRM demonstrate themselves as the higher standard holders among risk professionals.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2007

Carol Alexander Selects Aleksander Petreski to Receive PRMIA Institute Grant

Professor Carol Alexander, Chair of Risk Management and Director of Research at the University of Reading, and recipient of the 2006 Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) Higher Standard award, has named Aleksander Petreski as the recipient of the PRMIA Institute academic grant.

The PRMIA Higher Standard award is given to individuals who have significantly impacted the global practice of risk management, provided a substantial contribution to the mission of PRMIA and its members, and who show an ongoing commitment to the highest standards of the profession. As winner of this award, Ms. Alexander was given the opportunity to select a scholar or student in the field of risk management to receive a US$1,000 grant.

Aleksander Petreski is among the first intake on the new MSc graduate programme in Financial Risk Management at the ICMA Centre, University of Reading. Mr. Petreski is leading a research study which is sponsored by the British Foreign Office and administered by the British Council. He holds a BA in Economics from the State University in Skopje and is now Head of the Cash Management Unit in the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Macedonia.

Carol Alexander says: "Aleksander was chosen for this award because of his excellent performance on the Financial Risk Management MSc course, and because of his dedication to broadening the PRMIA network and furthering the profession in Macedonia."

Petreski says: "I regard the award as an immense personal satisfaction after the great effort put into the intensive but extraordinarily beneficial studies at the ICMA Centre. I would like to extend my personal and professional gratitude to Professor Carol Alexander for nominating me for this award, and I would also like to congratulate my co-award recipient, Ms. Doriana Ruffino."

Petreski intends to use the grant to obtain the The Professional Risk Manager (PRM™) Certification, the global standard for the world's top financial risk professionals. He explains, "The PRM Certificate proves that a risk manager has the critical knowledge to enter the financial industry. I believe that PRM, being endorsed by the leading financial companies, improves your employment prospects significantly."

To Mr. Petreski’s knowledge, he will be the first risk manager to obtain the PRM Certificate in the Republic of Macedonia. Through his influence and contacts with the financial industry he aims to establish this globally recognized standard in his country. He looks forward to becoming a part of the PRMIA network and to sharing and contributing knowledge for the development of this rapidly growing profession.

Posted by dkoenig at 04:16 AM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2007

PRMIA Institute Awards Best Paper: New Frontiers in Risk Management

At the 2007 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, the PRMIA Institute announced the selection of Klaus Bocker and Claudia Kluppelberg to receive its 2007 New Frontiers in Risk Management Award for their research paper entitled "Multivariate Models for Operational Risk." Mr. Bocker is Senior Risk Controller at HypoVereinsbank AG in Munich. In this capacity, one of his primary responsibilities is overseeing the quantitative aspects of HVB's economic capital model. Professor Kluppelberg holds the chair of Mathematical Statistics at the Center for Mathematical Sciences at the Munich University of Technology.

Klaus Bocker and PRMIA Institute President, David R, Koenig

This latest paper is a follow-up to Mr. Bocker's and Professor Kluppelberg's research paper published in the December 2005 issue of RISK, in which they presented a simple approximation of operational Value-at-Risk ("OpVaR") for a single operational risk cell. Their earlier body of work, entitled "Operational VaR: A Closed-form Approximation," demonstrated the ability to derive closed formulas for the calculation of univariate OpVaR at high confidence levels - an enhancement over commonly-used "black-box" simulation approaches to this issue since a closed formula generally allows for better analysis of the end result.

Mr. Bocker and Professor Kluppelberg pursued their research in the context of Basel II's revised international framework for capital adequacy, which seeks to more closely align banks' regulatory capital requirements with current and future risks. This revised framework allows for the increased use of internal bank risk assessments and quantification methods that incorporate individual banks' market risk, credit risk and operational risk.

Consistent with the objectives of its revised framework, Basel II introduced the Advanced Measurement Approaches (AMA) for assessing operational risk. Banks choosing to use an AMA to calculate the regulatory capital charge for operational risk must receive prior approval for a comprehensive operational risk measurement system that incorporates methods, instruments, IT systems, and review, control and monitoring processes.

Basel II explicitly refers to the issue of correlation (or more generally, the dependence structure among different operational risk estimates), which might result in a diversification benefit and an eventual reduction in overall operational risk. In "Multivariate Models for Operational Risk," Mr. Bocker and Professor Kluppelberg tackled this problem and investigated how such a dependence structure could be modeled using the novel concept of a Levy copula. By using Levy copulas, the researchers were able to derive closed-form approximations for important examples of heavy-tailed loss severity distributions and dependence structures.

The Levy copula draws on the general theory of Levy stochastic processes, which can be applied to loss distribution concepts employed in the actuarial profession, as well as to operational risk. Use of the Levy copula in this context is an innovative, intuitive approach with significant benefits for enterprise risk management.

The awarded paper has been widely recognized for its contribution to analyzing the behavior of multivariate operational risk. It has been received very favorably in the regulatory and risk management communities, including Deutsche Bundesbank and delegates to the Risk Capital Conference in Paris in 2006. These and other practitioners are very interested in the fact that closed-formula results for OpVaR can often be applied to estimate OpVaR with a low approximation error.

The co-authors look forward to the prospect of applying their generalized model of multivariate behavior to actual internal bank data for statistical estimations and parameterizing a Levy copula in practice. They are particularly interested in seeing the Levy copula becoming more popular in the assessment of operational risk and enterprise risk management in general.

Dr. Dan Oprescu, head of the Risk Management Practice for Financial Architects N.V. (FinArch) and a recognized expert in the field of Enterprise Risk Management, was a member of the selection committee for the PRMIA Institute award. In Dr. Oprescu's words, the Bocker- Kluppelberg paper stood out among its peers for its theoretical contributions to the analysis of ERM by "proposing a new framework that could unify the modelling of different types of event risk - a very important challenge faced by enterprise-wide risk models today. The paper presents the framework in a mathematically consistent fashion and then investigates some of its likely applications, showing risk modellers and managers how the framework could be adapted to individual circumstances."

You can download the paper by clicking here.

Posted by dkoenig at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2007

PRMIA Institute Awards Best Paper in Derivatives at 2007 Midwest Finance Association Annual Conference

Last week at the 2007 Midwest Finance Association's Annual Conference, the award for Best Paper in Derivatives was given to Beate Breuer, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Nicole Branger, Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet, Muenster and Christian Schlag, Goethe University, Frankfurt for their paper "Discrete-Time Implementation of Continuous-Time Portfolio Strategies". This award is sponsored by the PRMIA Institute.

According to the paper's abstract, since trading cannot take place continuously, the optimal portfolio calculated in a continuous-time model cannot be held, but the investor has to implement the continuous-time strategy in discrete time. This leads to the question how severe the resulting discretization error is. The paper analyzes this question in a simulation study for a variety of models.

Download the paper by clicking here.

The PRMIA Institute will be sponsoring the same award at the 2008 Midwest Finance Association's Annual Conference in San Antonio. For more information on this program, please visit www.mfa-2008.com

Posted by dkoenig at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2007

Chinese University Programs Endorse PRM Certification

The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) today announced that the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program has received formal backing from the RiskChina Research Center, the School of Information Management and Engineering at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the Statistics and Finance Department at University of Science and Technology of China, the School of Management and Economics and Laboratory of Knowledge Discovery and Data Analysis at Beijing Institute of Technology, and the International School of Software Engineering at Wuhan University.

"Risk management in China, especially among banks and insurance companies, is evolving quickly. The adoption of an international standard like the PRM is recognition of the need for all financial institutions to conduct risk management practices at the highest international levels," said David R. Koenig, Executive Director of PRMIA.

"As the unique international leader in risk management certification, PRMIA is performing one of the most value-added certification programs for financial risk managers around the world, the PRM," said Prof. Dash Wu, Director of the RiskChina Research Center (RCRC). "It is really exciting and challenging to introduce these leading certification programs to emerging economy such as China. RCRC endorses the PRM designation and is wholeheartedly taking the initiatives."

The PRM certification is offered at over 125 testing centers across mainland China, making it the only international risk certification program available to all Chinese financial institutions.

"We are very interested in collaborating with PRMIA regarding these research and endorsement issues," Dean Zheng Qin, from School of Information Management and Engineering, Shanghai University of Finance & Economics noted, “we believe the collaboration is very positive and we are looking forward to the intangible contributions in this area."

"We are glad to join RiskChina Research Center and other university programs in China in the endorsement of the PRM certification as the global standard which leads to Chinese risk managers to behave more professionally", said Barry Zhou, Dean of the International School of Software Engineering Wuhan University.

"I am happy to join in the endorsement of the PRM certification. I believe this is very promising and look forward to our collaboration!" said Professor Zhu Donghua, the Associate Dean of School of Management and Economics and Director of Laboratory of Knowledge Discovery and Data Analysis at Beijing Institute of Technology.

The PRM certification is the highest standard for financial risk managers worldwide, counting candidates in more than 90 countries. It has been formally endorsed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, the National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering, the University of Toronto Risk Lab, the University of Reading ICMA Centre, Technical University of Munich - HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance, the Macquarie University Applied Finance Center, a consortium of faculty in Paris representing ESCP-EAP, HEC, Ecole Polytechnique, Sorbonne and Université Paris Dauphine and Dr. Linda Kreitzmann, the Director of the Masters in Financial Engineering Program, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.

In addition, several leading service providers to the financial services industry have publicly endorsed the program including SunGard Trading and Risk, Algorithmics, The Canadian Securities Institute, Lombard Risk and MB Risk Management.

Posted by dkoenig at 04:46 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2007

Professional Risk Managers From Ten Countries Nominated For 2007 PRM Candidate Of The Year Award

The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) today announced the nominees for the 2007 PRM Candidate of the Year Award. This year, thirteen risk professionals, all who earned the prestigious PRM certification in 2006, have been nominated for the award.

Nominees are selected based on their performance across multiple exams in the PRM certification program. Each nominee scored in the top quantile on at least three of the four exams required to attain the PRM.

The nominees include:

Li-Ming Chen, Taipei Fubon Bank, Taipei, Taiwan
Kristian Greisen, Nykredit Bank, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sian Hwee Ong, Reuters Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore
Konstantin Tsukker, Algorithmics, Toronto, Canada
Sau Kei Li, HSBC Life (International) Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Vinayak Kamat, HSBC Software India Private Limited, Pune, India
Zoubair Kachri, LSE Space E&O AG, Greifenberg, Germany
Ashish Srivastava, Reliance Asset Mgmt (S'pore) Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore
Tomasz Kubiak, Banking - Bank Pekao SA, Warsaw, Poland
Aviel Yukelson, Gutmark, Radtke & Company AG, Frankfurt, Germany
Graeme West, Financial Modelling Agency, Parktown North, South Africa
Roman Jarocki, KPMG, London, United Kingdom
Bjoern Huether, VersAM Versicherungs-Assetmanagement GmbH, Muenster, Germany

"The PRM certification exam process distinguishes the best risk professionals globally and these nominees represent the best of the best," said David R. Koenig, Executive Director of PRMIA. "Once again, the list of nominees is diverse geographically, demonstrating the global influence of the risk management practice and the PRM certification's place as the global standard for risk managers."

The nominees are now required to submit answers to essay questions that will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of academic and industry professionals. From these essay reviews, finalists for the PRM Candidate of the Year Award will be chosen. The finalists then move onto the next stage of evaluation, which includes personal interviews.

Past winners of the PRM Candidate of the Year Award include:

* Elizabeth Castagna, Assoc. Director Investment Compliance, Fidelity Int'l, Bermuda
* Rene Sanda, Director of Risk Management, Banco do Brasil, Brazil
* Tan You Leong, Business Manager, Group Risk Management, Singapore
* Francois Bourdon, Quantitative Strategist, Fiera Capital, Canada

The PRM Candidate of the Year Award winner will be announced in May 2007.

About PRMIA and the PRM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers' International Association. A non-profit, member-led organization, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing high global standards of risk management through dialog and collaboration. PRMIA has over 40,000 members in 60 chapters and more than 175 countries around the world. PRMIA offers the only globally-endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program. Over 1,900 candidates in more than 90 countries are currently pursuing the PRM designation, more countries than any other risk certification program. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2007

PRMIA Institute Launches Two New Courses

The PRMIA Institute is launching two new courses featuring faculty members from the Fields Institute at the University of Toronto.

Prof. Luis Seco is teaching a Hedge Fund Risk Management course during April in Chicago, and during May in New York.

Dr. Dan Rosen is teaching an Economic Credit Capital Allocation course during May in Charlotte, New York and Boston.

Plans are also underway for new courses in Asia and North America this fall. For a full list of upcoming classroom courses from the PRMIA Institute, please click here.

Posted by dkoenig at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2007

2007 "Frontiers in Credit Forum" Report: Bubble Mania Redux?

by Janet Basilone, special to PRMIA

February 28, 2007 - New York, NY - Highlighted with keynote presentations from industry leaders like John Hull, Ed Altman and Don van Deventer, PRMIA New York's 2007 "Frontiers in Credit Forum" raised issues of high importance for the risk profession. The general consensus among participating experts was a mixture of enthusiasm about the point to which the industry has evolved tempered with concerns about trends that, if not properly managed, portend trouble on the horizon.

After a welcome from PRMIA New York Regional Director James Tunkey, the morning kicked off with a panel on Frontiers in Credit Research moderated by Peter Davis, Director of Credit Risk Services in Ernst & Young's Global Financial Services Advisory Practice. Co-panelists James Batterman, Senior Director in the Credit Policy Group at Fitch Ratings, and David Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Credit Policy Research at Moody's Investors Service, addressed a rapt audience on the topics of credit derivatives product news and near-term expectations for default experience, respectively.

Mr. Batterman reviewed highlights of Fitch's 2006 Global Credit Derivatives Survey, subtitled: "Indices Dominate Growth as Banks' Risk Position Shifts." The survey found that the notional amount of outstanding credit derivatives contracts sold rose from US$5.3 trillion at year-end 2004 to nearly US$12.0 trillion at year-end 2005 - an increase of 122%; by year-end 2006 this number had more than doubled to over $25 trillion. Indices and index-related products (CDX, iTraxx, ABX.HE) continue to drive the growth in the synthetic CDS market: the segment grew by an astounding 900% and, at US$3.7 trillion, now constitutes 31% of gross sold positions.

Of course, a key theme throughout the day was the strong appetite in the market for corporate leveraged loans, an asset class within one of the most innovative and fastest growing sectors of the U.S. capital markets in 20 years. Mr. Batterman noted how the growing secondary market for leveraged loans is driving the market in credit derivatives for these loans. Europe has taken the lead with LevX; dealers in the U.S. continue to work toward the introduction of the U.S. loan CDS index, LCDX.

Mr. Hamilton of Moody's pointed out that the prevalence of corporate leveraged loans prompted Moody’s to update its model for assessing the speculative grade default rate and introduce an LGD scale. The addition of corporate loan issuers to the bond universe, especially in the high-yield sector, will allow for a more representative indicator of corporate defaults.

Mr. Hamilton noted that the default rate on speculative grade instruments has been low - at or below 2% - for a "long" time. (He was referring to the period from mid-2005 to February 2007.) For 2007, he forecasts a default rate of 3.1%, still well below the historical average of 4.9%. Mr. Hamilton pointed out that the proportion of high-yield ratings categories (B2 to Caa) in Moody's portfolio has increased significantly. Like the morning's keynote speaker, Edward I. Altman, Mr. Hamilton projects a negative turn in the cycle by 2008 due to weak fundamentals.

Throughout the day, speakers discussed their views on the state of the market in high yield bonds, loans and distressed debt. Since 2003, there has been a steady climb in the issuance of speculative-grade bonds and loans. Corporate loans - in particular second lien loans - have become an important substitute asset class for highly leveraged issuers, and 2006 saw a pronounced rise in the number of loan-only issuers.

Compounding concerns is the expectation, based on historical data, that deterioration in the credit quality of loan-only issuers will coincide with deterioration in loan-only recovery rates. (Many panelists commented on the current abnormally low default/ high recovery rate state of the market versus the historical rate.) It was noted that the rise of loans as a substitute asset class, as well as the presence of new institutional investors with distinct strategic objectives and tactics, are wildcards for the direction of the expected default and recovery rates.

The dramatic increase in liquidity resulting from the presence of aggressive investors (e.g., hedge funds, private equity firms) in search of yield, however little, has given rise to an imbalance in supply and demand. And these aggressive investors, who lend directly to troubled issuers, can act as a lifeline or precipitate their default.

Matthieu Royer, Director in the Portfolio & Balance Sheet Management Group at CALYON (a division of Credit Agricole Group), moderated a panel on The Credit Model Spectrum. This group included Stephen Figlewski, Professor of Finance at New York University, who presented recent research and findings on the macro-economic aspects of default likelihood and migration forecasts; Bjorn Flesaker of Bloomberg who spoke about the use of CDS to replicate or price other default contingent claims; and Sivan Mahadevan of Morgan Stanley who provided a market perspective on default correlation.

In the afternoon Practitioners Forum, Martin Fridson, CEO of FridsonVision, LLC, spoke abut the benefits, and costs, of liquidity. He referred to a "credit spiral" that lets companies borrow their way out of trouble. Indeed, fewer troubled companies are filing for Chapter 11 because hedge funds are eager to step in with financing in the current market environment. Mr. Fridson spoke of the power of liquidity to keep the default rate low (at least temporarily). And he raised concern about the quality of new issuances that he speculated could lead to a peak in the default rate in 2009. This idea was broached by an earlier presenter who indicated that the rating distribution of first-time issuers since 2004 leads many to think the default rate is primed for a rise: 30% of issuers are rated "Caa" out of the gate.

Curt Deane, principal of the Deane Group, pointed out that there is no apparent reward for the level of risk in this market, and questions how the liquidity can justify the homes it is seeking. Mr. Deane worries that you don't know who the ultimate counterparty is. He wonders why nobody kicks tires anymore and asks: are we too complacent about the concept of credit protection?

Chris Whalen, Managing Director of Institutional Risk Analysis, reiterated many of Mr. Deane's concerns. He asserts that we need a more critical view and must look at deeper default experience. He'd like answers to questions such as "When do you normalize a data series?" and "How does a company compare to its peers?" He, too, notes that there is no compensation for risk today, and that a hedge fund manager has zero incentive to enter into a restructuring driven by a bank workout department; the incentive is to liquidate.

The size of the distressed debt market and performance are what continue to drive investment in this asset class. Assets under management at distressed debt hedge funds range from $5 billion to $20 billion. In 2006, BB-rated bonds yielded 10%; CCCs yielded 20%; distressed CCCs yielded 40%; and the average return on defaulted bonds was 40% to 60%. Although more and more players see assets in bankruptcy as an exciting asset class, the big unknown is whether these investors will be capable of withstanding defaults and write-offs during a downturn.

Indeed Edward Altman, Max L. Heine Professor of Finance at New York University's Stern School of Business, sounded a note of caution for risk professionals. At 2.5% in 2007 and 3.7% in 2008, his default rate forecast for corporate high-yield non-investment grade bonds is higher than the current rate of 0.76%, but well below the historical average of 4.2%. While Professor Altman is not necessarily forecasting a drying up of liquidity, he does caution that corporate fundamentals and poor new bond and loan quality point toward significantly higher default rates in the future.

The issue for Professor Altman is: are historical default/recovery models still relevant or is there a new paradigm? He questions the conventional wisdom that recession paves the way for defaults. As he points out, this was not the case in the last two recessions. In his view, new models are needed.

Today's average loan in default sells at $0.93 on the dollar, an amount very close to that of the average on new defaults. Ed Altman wonders if these companies are really worth that much in asset value? And he poses this important question: will excess liquidity continue to dominate the market or will we observe a regression to the long-term mean and where defaults and recoveries are once again based on firm-fundamental and more traditional supply/demand risk patterns?

Sound familiar?

If PRMIA's 2007 Frontiers in Credit Forum is used to gauge quality for future programs, members will want to make a point of reserving a slot for upcoming events. Matthieu Royer summed it up by saying that he had never seen such a high caliber of panelists in a one-day event. This forum is just one example of PRMIA's level of commitment to delivering high-value programs to its membership.

Posted by dkoenig at 04:07 AM | Comments (0)

Robert C. Merton Selects Graduate Student To Receive PRMIA Institute Grant

Professor Robert C. Merton, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at the Harvard Business School, and recipient of the 2006 PRMIA Higher Standard Award, has named Doriana Ruffino, a PhD student at Boston University, as the recipient of the PRMIA Institute academic grant associated with his Higher Standard Award.

"Doriana is absolutely first-rate in quality of mind, dedication to the subject, and delivering on performance," said Dr. Merton. "She exemplifies well the quality expected of someone receiving a grant as a consequence of the PRMIA Higher Standard Award."

Ms. Ruffino's research employs continuous-time finance theory in the study of optimal risk management, both at the level of financial firms and at the level of households finance. In the context of the risk management techniques utilized by financial firms, she has authored an article that responds to recent commentaries suggesting that dynamic hedging is an inadequate description of real-world practices.

Her most current research is on optimal household decisions over the life-cycle. The model that she has been developing over the past few months will be part of her dissertation proposal and it is entitled "Career Risk Management: The Optimal Exercise of Life-Cycle Options (with Jonathan Treussard)."

"I am truly honored to have received this award and to have the opportunity to conduct academic research in line with PRMIA's primary objectives," said Ms. Ruffino. "Needless to say, this does and will motivate me even further to pursue higher standards in my research."

The PRMIA Higher Standard award is granted to individuals who have significantly impacted the global practice of risk management, provided a substantial contribution to the Mission of PRMIA and its members, and who show an ongoing commitment to the highest standards of the profession.

Posted by dkoenig at 02:57 AM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2007

Frontiers in Credit Forum: Professor Edward I. Altman Issues Caution on Credit

February 16, 2007 – New York, NY – Edward I. Altman, Max L. Heine Professor of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, today presented at PRMIA’s Frontiers in Credit Forum his latest forecasts on default rates for corporate high-yield non-investment grade bonds.

Using his model based on mortality rates, Professor Altman forecasts a default rate of 2.5% in 2007 and 3.7% in 2008. While higher than the current rate of 0.76%, these default forecasts are well below the historical average of 4.2%. Leveraged loans are also currently exhibiting similarly low historic rates of default.

Professor Altman points out that this is the lowest default rate in 25 years on corporate high-yield non-investment grade bonds, and the highest recovery rate ever. He attributes this to the unusually high volume of liquidity chasing few defaults.

Today’s average loan in default sells at $0.93 on the dollar, an amount very close to that of the average on new defaults. Driving these trends are an estimated 170 managers of distressed debt in the U.S. alone.

While Professor Altman is not necessarily forecasting a drying up of liquidity, he does caution that corporate fundamentals and poor new bond and loan quality point toward significantly higher default rates in the future.

The PRMIA Frontiers in Credit Forum is the first of four events in this year’s PRMIA New York Conference Series.

Posted by dkoenig at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2007

The PRMIA Institute Announces the Formation of the PRMIA Institute - China

The PRMIA Institute has formed a partnership with the RiskChina Research Center and several university programs in China to launch the PRMIA Institute – China.

The focus of this partnership will be the provision of training programs in China that feature leading international faculty as well as the top faculty from Chinese universities, the support of academic work at these institutions and the enhanced availability of publications and research serving Chinese risk management professionals.

The RiskChina Research Center is an institution affiliated with RiskLab from University of Toronto and jointly sponsored by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. In addition to the RiskChina Research Center, the PRMIA Institute – China will work with the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the International School of Software Engineering Wuhan University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

“We are thrilled to see the growth of the PRMIA Institute partnerships to mainland China and are especially pleased that Prof. Dash Wu will bring his leadership and academic expertise to the PRMIA Institute – China,” said David R. Koenig, President of the PRMIA Institute. “There is a vast demand for professional development programs for risk managers and the PRMIA Institute – China looks forward to serving the local needs.”

“There is no security on this earth, only opportunity,” said Prof. Dash Wu, Director of RiskChina Research Center and Adjunct Professor of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics “Joining the PRMIA Institute partnership, we are winning these opportunities.”

The PRMIA Institute is an international cooperative effort between the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association and leading university programs around the world. Current partners include the Columbia Business School, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, the National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering, the University of Toronto Risk Lab, the University of Reading ICMA Centre, Technical University of Munich - HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance, the Macquarie University Applied Finance Center, Groupe HEC Business School, George Washington University’s MS in Finance program, the University of Michigan College of Engineering, the University of Cyprus Center for Banking and Financial Research. In addition, of the Masters in Financial Engineering Program, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley is represented by Dr. Linda Kreitzmann, its Director.

About PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 35,000 members from more than 170 countries. A Section 501(c)(6) non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,900 active candidates from more than 90 countries.

The PRMIA Institute is setting a higher standard in risk education. It is a non-profit Section 501(c)(3) corporation formed to serve the academic, scientific and charitable mission of PRMIA. The PRMIA Institute partners with leading university programs around the world to develop best-practice curricula for graduate studies in risk management and financial mathematics / engineering, provides classroom and online educational programs for working professionals, financial support of scholarly work, publications like the Professional Risk Managers' Handbook and scholarships to support the study of risk management among lower-income individuals.

You can learn more about both at www.prmia.org.

About the RiskChina Research Center

The RiskChina Research Center(RCRC, Chinese Domain: www.riskchina.org) at University of Toronto is an institution affiliated with RiskLab Toronto (part of the international network of RiskLabs sponsored by Algorithmics) which was founded in 1996 to conduct activities in financial risk management, often times in collaboration with industrial partners. RCRC aims to promote collaboration toward understanding greater China based on in-depth research and experience. The Center draws much if its expertise from the universities around the world, working collaboratively across institutions and jointly with the public and private sectors. The universities currently represented are University of Toronto, University of Chicago, University of Nebraska Lincoln (USA), Ryerson University (Toronto), Munich Institute of Technology (Germany), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), the International Management Center in Nicosia (Cyprus), the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima (Peru) and many others in South America.

The researchers of the Center study various aspects of Chinese financial and enterprise risks and the economic and business environment. Our goal via the Center is to make our knowledge and expertise available to a wide variety of constituents beyond our academic community, as well as to enhance our academic work via cross-disciplinary and institutional collaboration.

To date the Center has sponsored and co-sponsored many events. We have organized major business and academic conferences such as ICMI, edit special issues for various journals such as IJTM, IJVCM, IJENM, IJECRM, and participate in on-going workshops, panels and presentations aimed at disseminating insights and information about developments in contemporary China. The Center publishes an online bulletin with research articles, current events and information about study, business training programs. We also publish a calendar of China related events, and supply information via resource links on the Center’s website.

The Center also sponsors the referred journal:

International Journal of Services Sciences (IJSSci)
International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management (IJCCM)

Posted by dkoenig at 05:20 PM | Comments (1)

February 12, 2007

The PRMIA Institute and the PRMIA Institute - China issue a Call for Papers

The PRMIA Institute and the PRMIA Institute - China, supporters of the 2007 International Conference on Management Innovation (ICMI 2007) in Shanghai, China, are issuing a call for papers for technical sessions/Focus Symposia related to the themes of the conference which include:

Quantitative Financial Management Theory and Applications
Credit Risk
Integrated Risk Management
Interest Rate Term Structure
Portfolio Optimisation
Business Data Mining Theory and Applications
Business Data Mining Risk Management in Supply Chain
Financial market analysis
Supply Chain and Financial Options
E-commerce and Web Services
Online filtering
Benchmarking and Evaluations
Business Outsourcing

Proposals can be submitted to dash@risklabchina.ca with a copy to ijssci@inderscience.com. Please use the standard form which can be found online at http://www.icmi2007.org/pages/cfp.html.

You can learn more about this conference at http://www.icmi2007.org/index.html.

Proposals must be submitted not later than March 15th, 2007.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2007

PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute Provide Over US$100,000 In Scholarships And Academic Grants In 2006

In 2006, the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) and the PRMIA Institute combined to give over US$100,000 worldwide in scholarships and academic grants to students, members in emerging markets and low-income individuals to support their study of risk management. These grants were provided to allow access to professional development resources that would not otherwise have been affordable.

"PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute have had a global commitment to serving members in both advanced and emerging markets," said David R. Koenig, Executive Director of PRMIA and President of the PRMIA Institute. "Our PRM certification is pursued by candidates in over 90 countries. Our professional development programs and publications are being used in more than 120 countries. The scholarship program is one of the reasons that there has been such a wide adoption of these programs"

In order to qualify for PRMIA and PRMIA Institute scholarships, members must have annual incomes of less than US$25,000 and cannot have their professional development expenses reimbursed by a third party. Scholarships have been granted to members in 73 countries.

David Millar, PRMIA's Chief Operating Officer said "PRMIA is committed to improving risk management across the globe and we believe in making our knowledge and exams available to all, including developing countries. I would like to thank our contributing membership, our corporate client and our sponsors for providing the funding which makes these benefits possible."

PRMIA provides scholarships to individuals pursuing the PRM certification program, including assistance with exam fees and preparation materials. The PRMIA Institute provides scholarships to assist with the purchases of books and online training programs.

About PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers' International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 35,000 members from more than 170 countries. A Section 501(c)(6) non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,800 active candidates from more than 90 countries.

You can learn more about both at www.prmia.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 01:20 PM | Comments (2)

January 23, 2007

Top PRM Candidates in Fourth Quarter of 2006 Come from UK, USA, Poland, Canada and Denmark

We extend our congratulations to the following candidates for the PRM certification program who have attained the top scores globally during the fourth quarter of 2006:

Exam I - Finance Theory, Financial Instruments and Markets

Tomasz Kurnatowski, Citibank Handlowy, Warsaw, Poland

Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement

Konstantin Tsukker, Algorithmics, Toronto, Canada
Ing Chian Ching, CCA Strategies LLC, Atlanta, GA, USA
Kristian Greisen, Nykredit Bank, Copenhagen, Denmark
Grzegorz Gawron, Lehman Brothers, London, England

Exam III - Risk Management Best Practices

Xuan Kong, NEUROMetrix Inc, Waltham, MA, USA

Exam IV - Case Studies, Governance, Conduct

Saleem Husain, Citigroup Investment Bank, New York, NY, USA

Posted by dkoenig at 05:35 AM | Comments (3)

Five Candidates Earn Perfect Scores on PRM Exams During Fourth Quarter of 2006

Our congratulations to the following candidates who attained perfect scores on one of the exams of the PRM certification program during the fourth quarter of 2005:

Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement

Exam IV - Case Studies, Governance, Conduct

Saleem Husain, Citigroup Investment Bank, New York, NY, USA

For more information about the PRM certification program, please click here.

Posted by dkoenig at 04:52 AM | Comments (1)

PRM Candidates Now in 91 Countries

The risk profession's only globally endorsed certification program, the PRM, now counts candidates in 91 countries.

Afghanistan
Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Barbados
Belgium
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia/Herzegowina
Brazil
Cambodia
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cote De voire
Croatia/Hrvatska
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea (South)
Kuwait
Lebanon
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Trinidad/Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States of America
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yugoslavia
Zambia

Congratulations to all who have taken up the challenge of the PRM and to those who have donated their time and professional skills to the development of this global standard.

Posted by dkoenig at 04:01 AM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2007

PRMIA Institute and Columbia Business School Launch Successful Risk Management Course

The PRMIA Institute and the Columbia Business School successfully launched their joint Complete Course in Professional Risk Management in New York yesterday.

Delegates from companies like Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citigroup, Grupo Santander, NRG, Moody's, Moore Capital, Ernst & Young and many others are participating in the 20-week program.

Prof. Costis Maglaras, Associate Professor of Business led the first session, building the mathematical foundations of risk measurement necessary for effective risk management programs.

More than one dozen Columbia Business School faculty are participating in the program. Their teaching is combined with the perspectives of leading practitioners like Dan Rodriguez, Executive Director in Market Risk Modeling at Morgan Stanley and Philippa Girling, Global Co-Head of Operational Risk at Nomura.

The program concludes with a certificate exam at the end of May.

Those interested in attending future offerings of the program, or parts of the current program can contact Jodi Lundell, PRMIA Institute Director of Events, at jodi.lundell@prmia.org or +1-917-421-9651.

Posted by dkoenig at 03:07 PM | Comments (4)

December 28, 2006

PRMIA Appoints David Millar to Chief Operating Officer Position

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact PRMIA Communications Department
communications@prmia.org

The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) has announced that David Millar of London, England has been appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer of the association.

Mr. Millar has been working with PRMIA as the administrative co-Chair of the Regional Director Support and Standards Committee. In his new role, he will expand his administrative direction to include management of other global volunteer committees, including the Education and Standards Committee, PRMIA administrative, legal and financial matters, PRMIA partner relationships and general day-to-day management of operations. Mr. Millar will report to David R. Koenig, PRMIA’s Executive Director, who has also been named President and Executive Director of the PRMIA Institute. The addition of the Chief Operating Officer role to PRMIA’s professional team allows the association to further expand the services offered to its members, certification candidates and partners.

“We’re very pleased that David is expanding his professional role with PRMIA,” said Mr. Koenig. “He has shown very capable leadership of our Regional Director Support and Standards Committee and our administrative staff and volunteers have greatly appreciated his contributions.”

Mr. Millar has over 30 years of industry experience and is a process, IT and risk management professional focused on financial markets. His experience covers strategy, training, consulting, research, outsourcing and change management. He has strong business development and marketing skills. Mr. Millar has an impressive track record in retail and investment banking and ran the banking division at Capgemini, a consulting, implementation and outsourcing division. In recent years he has specialized in enterprise and operational risk management consulting, training and writing including Basel II, Sarbanes-Oxley, MiFID and other EU Directives and their control and supervisory requirements.

“I am delighted to be taking on this new challenge. It brings together a career interest in risk management with the opportunity to contribute to a successful and growing professional association”, said Mr. Millar. “It also allows me to continue working with a great team of motivated and energetic PRMIA volunteers, staff and members”.

In less than five years, PRMIA’s membership has grown from its 25 founding members to nearly 40,000 members in 172 countries. Its flagship PRM certification program is recognized as the highest standard in risk certification programs and counts candidates in over 90 countries.

About PRMIA and the PRM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and nearly 40,000 members from more than 172 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,800 active candidates from more than 90 countries. You can learn more at www.prmia.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 02:23 PM | Comments (1)

December 05, 2006

2005 PRM Candidate of the Year Named Risk Management Director for Banco do Brasil

Rene Sanda, winner of the 2005 PRM Candidate of the Year Award, has been named by the Board of Banco do Brasil as the new Risk Management Director.

"My appointment as the new Risk Management Director of Banco do Brasil (the biggest bank in Latin American) was due to good luck, hard work and PRMIA," said Mr. Sanda, "There is no organization in the world that supports the risk professionals like PRMIA."

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Sanda had been supervising the treasury division of Banco do Brasil’s New York branch, where he was responsible for planning, directing and controlling the branch’s treasury and risk management activities. Sanda served as an asset liability manager for Banco do Brasil from December 1999 to April 2002. Prior to that time he was head of the international finance division from January 1995 to December 1999. Sanda holds a masters degree in statistics from Instituto de Mateme from the Universidade de Sao Paulo and an executive MBA in finance from Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de
Captais in Brazil.

We congratulate Rene on his accomplishments and are very pleased to see the success of those who have attained the higher standard in risk certification, the PRM.

The press release, in Portuguese, can be found by clicking here.

Posted by dkoenig at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2006

PRMIA Institute Awards Best Paper in Risk Management at 2006 FMA Annual Meeting

November 20, 2006 - The PRMIA Institute recently awarded a prize for the top paper in risk management at the 2006 Financial Management Association's Annual Conference in Salt Lake City to faculty from George Washington University and the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

The winning paper was entitled Risk Management with Stress Testing: Implications for Portfolio Selection and Asset Pricing.

Our congratulations go to the authors and award recipients: Professor Gordon J. Alexander, the John Spooner Chair in Investment Management and Professor of Finance, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota and Alexandre M. Baptista, Assistant Professor of Finance in the School of Business at The George Washington University

Stress Testing is often used by banks and securities firms to set risk exposure limits. In their paper, the authors examine a model with an agent who faces binding stress testing constraints and another who does not. Their results, among other findings, provide further motivation to the literature in which security prices are not solely driven by systematic risk.

“The PRMIA Institute has been showing support for advanced academic research since its founding,” commented David R. Koenig, the Executive Director of the PRMIA Institute. “This year’s prize is the third such award presented for the scholarly work of the membership of the Financial Management Association.”

The winning paper can be downloaded from the FMA website by clicking here.

About PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute

The PRMIA Institute is setting a higher standard in risk education. It is a non-profit corporation formed to serve the academic, scientific and charitable mission of PRMIA. The PRMIA Institute partners with leading university programs around the world to develop best-practice curricula for graduate studies in risk management and financial mathematics / engineering, provides classroom and online educational programs for working professionals, financial support of scholarly work, publications like the Professional Risk Managers' Handbook and scholarships to support the study of risk management among lower-income individuals.

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 35,000 members from more than 170 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,800 active candidates from more than 85 countries. You can learn more about both at www.prmia.org.

About the Authors

GORDON J. ALEXANDER is a Professor of Finance and holds the John Spooner Chair in Investment Management in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his M.B.A., M.A. in Mathematics, and Ph.D. in Finance from The University of Michigan.

His research specialties are investments and portfolio management. Current research areas involve market microstructure, risk management, and mutual funds. He has published articles in numerous journals, including the Financial Management, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Financial Markets, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Portfolio Management, and Review of Financial Studies. He is the co-author of three books on investments and portfolio analysis; one of his co-authors is Nobel Laureate William F. Sharpe of Stanford University.

He is currently First Vice President of the Midwest Finance Association, and has been a Director of the Financial Management Association and a Senior Research Economist at the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

ALEXANDRE M. BAPTISTA is an Assistant Professor of Finance in the School of Business at The George Washington University. He received his Licenciatura in Business Administration from ISCTE in Portugal, and his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Minnesota.

His research specialties are portfolio management, risk management, asset pricing theory, and derivatives. He has published articles in several journals, including the Economic Theory, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Portfolio Management, Management Science, and Mathematical Finance.

Posted by dkoenig at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2006

Geoff Kates, Bob Mark and Alexander Shipilov Elected to PRMIA Board Executive Committee

The Regional Directors of PRMIA today re-elected the members of the PRMIA Board Executive Committee to one year terms.

Geoff Kates, of London, was re-elected Chair of the Board of Directors. Robert Mark, of Lafayette, California, was re-elected as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Alexander Shipilov was re-elected as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board.

The Executive Committee has responsibility for the overall management of the association. The Board of Directors as a whole sets the stragegic direction for PRMIA.

Posted by dkoenig at 05:16 PM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2006

Elite Graduate Seminar Built Around PRM Certification and PRM Handbook

November 8, 2006 – The Technical University of Munich has launched an elite graduate seminar in professional risk management built on the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification syllabus and the PRM Handbook, the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) announced today.

The seminar is part of the Elite Graduate Program“Finance & Information Management”. In the first part of the seminar the students will learn and present topics like market risk, credit risk and operational risk based on Section III of the PRM-Handbook. In the second part different case studies including National Australia Bank, BARINGS, Riggs Bank, US Savings & Loan Crisis, LTCM, Orange County, Metallgesellschaft and Continental Illinois will be discussed. This part of the seminar is based on the case studies to be prepared for the exam PRM IV. The final target of the seminar is to give the students a deeper insight into professional risk management and to prepare them for the exams in PRM III and IV.

“We are pleased to work with a selected group of students and PRMIA in setting global standards for graduate level education in risk management and financial engineering," said Prof. Rudi Zagst, Director of the HVB Institute for Mathematical Finance. "It is a wonderful chance for our students to base their education on one of the most challenging certification programs for financial risk managers around the world, the PRM.”

Within the framework of the Elite Network of Bavaria the Elite Graduate Program “Finance & Information Management” started with the academic year 2004/05 as a joint program of the University of Augsburg and the Technical University of Munich. Through the combination of an excellent professional education in the fields of Finance & Information Management with soft skills, multi- and interdisciplinary studies and international scientific and corporatepartnerships, the aim of the Elite Graduate Program is to provide very gifted and ambitious students with an exceptional academic education. Admission to this specific educational program with intensive and individual support will provide for a concentrated, international, efficient and, at the same time, cross-linked, practical study. The program is designed in order to enable its students to fill leadership-positions in business, science and politics.

The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), who certify the holders of the PRM credential, have built strong links with a group of well known universities and business schools, including the HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance, through the PRMIA Institute, where best practice curricula for graduate programs in risk management are being developed. Rudi Zagst, the director of the HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance is also member of the Academic Advisory Council (AAC) of the PRMIA Institute. The AAC consists of internationally renowned academics that are dedicated to global outreach and the highest educational standards. In addition to the HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance, members of the AAC come from the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, Groupe HEC Business School in Paris, ICMA Centre University of Reading,National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering, University of Toronto Risk Lab, Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre, the Columbia Business School, George Washington University, the University of Cyprus and the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Representatives from each institution are engaged in supporting the risk management profession through PRMIA.

The HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance will also launch a new PRM training program in Munich in November of 2006. The HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance joins other leading university programs that have identified the PRM as the higher standard in risk certification programs and are helping to prepare risk professionals for the challenge of this leading risk management certification program.

About the Technical University of Munich

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) can trace its actual origins to the independent “Royal Polytechnic School” founded by King Ludwig II in 1868. Many outstanding university lecturers once worked at the TUM, and the establishment has produced a large number of leading scientists and engineers. The liquefaction of air by Carl von Linde (1895), the invention of the diesel engine by his student Rudolf Diesel (1897), the discovery of the structure of hemoglobin by Hans Fischer (1930 Nobel Price for Chemistry), the discovery of recoil-free gamma-ray resonance absorption of Rudolf Mößbauer (1961 Nobel Price for Physics), and the establishment of organometallic chemistry as a field of science by Ernst Otto Fischer (1973 Nobel Price for Chemistry) stand for a large number of pioneering inventions and discoveries made at the TUM.

The Institute of Technology, which was renamed Technical University of Munich in 1970, has long become a synonym for technical progress and has always focused on elite scientific research in close cooperation with industry partners. Since the TUM is the only technical university in the south German state of Bavaria, this places it under a certain obligation to keep abreast with the foremost advances in scientific and technical progress. In 2000, the TUM was the sole university to gain the “Best Practice University” distinction awarded by Bertelsmann Foundation’s Centre for Higher Education Development. The quality of the research and education provided by the TUM is approved by its continuously high rankings and the widely recognized standing of its graduates. In 2006, the TUM was awarded one out of only three “Elite Universities” in Germany.

The HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance at the TUM was formed in 2003 and is part of the Centre for Mathematical Sciences. Research at the Institute covers the areas of stochastic finance, computational finance and financial optimization. A significant track record of industry funded research as well as a broad spectrum of academic research in risk and asset management characterizes the Institute’s activities and made it one of the most recognized institutes in Germany. An overview on the broad range of academic research, publications and industry reports can be found on the institute’s website www.mathfinance.ma.tum.de.

About PRMIA and the PRM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. A nonprofit formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 37,000 members from more than 170 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,700 active candidates from more than 85 countries, more than any other risk certification program. The PRM is the higher standard in risk certification. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

October 27, 2006

Mark Abbott, Christian Jimenez and Alexander Shipilov Elected to PRMIA Board of Directors

Regular Members who were registered with PRMIA on or before September 27, 2006 were eligible to vote in this year's Board of Director elections. At the Special Meeting of the Members today, a Quorum representing more than 2% of the membership in each region and more than 6% of The Members overall, was declared. At the meeting the following votes for Board candidates were received:

Global Director

Mark Abbott 375 votes, 26.0%
Philppa Girling 268 votes, 18.6%
Christian Jimenez 302 votes, 21.0%
Alexander Shipilov 292 votes, 20.3%
Ashish Dev 203 votes, 14.1%

We welcome Christian Jimenez to our Board of Directors as a new member and enjoy the return of Mark Abbott and Alexander Shipilov. Each of these representatives will serve a term that expires in 2009.

Our appreciation is extended to Philippa Girling and Ashsh Dev for their candidacy and willingness to serve PRMIA's global Mission.

Our association is strengthened by member participation in the vote and your 'ownership' of the association. The next formal step in our governance of the association to elect the Executive Committee of the Board and then to conduct the Annual Members' Survey, which you will receive in mid-November. We hope that you will take that opportunity to tell us how our Board and volunteer committees can best serve you and to further commit your support of PRMIA.

On Wednesday November 15th, 2006, our Regional Directors will elect the Executive Committee of the PRMIA Board, including the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer.

On a personal note, I am very honored to have served for these 4+ years on the PRMIA Board and extend my deep appreciation to all who have served and who have been nominated by the members for consideration over these years. We have a tremendous group of people supporting and driving PRMIA.

Posted by dkoenig at 06:48 PM | Comments (1)

October 23, 2006

Be Sure to Vote in PRMIA Board Elections

Proxy voting for the 2006 PRMIA Board of Directors Election has now opened.

Any member registered on September 27, 2006 or before is eligible to vote at http://prmia.org/Elections/elections_Global.php

Please be sure to have your PRMIA username and password available. You may vote for one candidate.

The candidates are:

Mark Abbott

Ashish Dev

Philippa Girling

Christian Jimenez

Alexander Shipilov

Proxy voting is available until 8:00 AM Central Time on Friday October 27th. Please cast your vote at http://prmia.org/Elections/elections_Global.php

We thank you for your paricipation in the governance of your association!

Posted by dkoenig at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2006

Five Nominated for Global Representatives to PRMIA Board of Directors

We have received nominations from our membership for five candidates to stand for the three Global representatives on the PRMIA Board of Directors, all of whom have world-class credentials. Those nominated include:

Mark Abbott - Managing Director, Head of Quantitative Risk Management, Guardian Life Insurance (Current PRMIA Board Member)

Ashish Dev - Executive Vice President, KeyCorp

Philippa Girling - Global Co-Head of Operational Risk, Nomura

Christian Jimenez - CFO, Ecureuil Vie and Regional Director, PRMIA Paris

Alexander Shipilov - Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers (Current PRMIA Board Member and PRMIA Treasurer)

Full bios of the nominees can be found online by clicking here.

We are very pleased to be able to attract such an excellent group of candidates who are committed to the higher standards for which PRMIA members and volunteers strive.

Voting by the members will begin on the 19th of October, and will conclude at 8:00 AM Central Time on Friday the 27th. All members who were registered on September 27,2006 or before are eligible to vote and will be notified of the opportunity to cast a proxy vote at the email address listed in their PRMIA membership records.

Posted by dkoenig at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2006

PRMIA to Launch Hedge Fund Risk Management Specialization Exam

The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) today announced that it will launch a Hedge Fund Risk Management specialization exam in January of 2007 as part of its Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program.

For more than one year, a committee of highly regarded experts in the field of Hedge Fund risk management has been designing and developing a method for validating the knowledge and understanding of risk management necessary for application to the unique risks of hedge funds. The PRM certification program is one that validates the foundations of the knowledge and understanding needed to be a professional risk manager. The new PRM Hedge Fund Specialization Exam evaluates the risk manager’s skills in this particular industry application.

"The application of risk management to hedge funds is a necessary component of any successful hedge fund program. The breadth and dynamism of investment styles that fall within the scope of the hedge fund investment industry require a sound grounding not only in the basic principles of risk management, but also, how those principles apply to the sometimes strange, but fascinating, world of hedge funds,” said Mark Anson, Ph.D, CFA, CAIA, CPA, JD, who is the CEO of Hermes Pensions Management and CEO of the British Telecomm Pension Scheme and a member of the committee that developed this exam. “Considerable time and effort was put into the selection of reading materials and exam questions to ensure a thorough grounding in understanding how hedge funds work."

The exam development committee includes a mix of leading practitioners and academicians, all widely published:

Mark Anson, Ph.D, CFA, CAIA, CPA, JD, CEO of Hermes Pensions Management and CEO of the British Telecomm Pension Scheme
Keith H. Black, CFA, CAIA, Illinois Institute of Technology
Francois-Serge Lhabitant, PhD, Chief Investment Officer, Kedge Capital, Professor of Finance, HEC Lausanne and EDHEC
Prof. Luis Seco, University of Toronto and President, Sigma Analysis and Management
Ms. Hilary Till, Principal, Premia Capital Management, LLC, Research Associate, EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre
Kathryn Wilkens, Ph.D., CAIA, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, Director of Curriculum
David R. Koenig, Executive Director and Past Chair, Board of Directors, PRMIA

The exam will first be offered in January of 2007 through the 4,000 testing centers worldwide where the PRM exams are administered. Registrations will be taken beginning in December of 2006 via the PRMIA website at www.prmia.org. A fact sheet about the exam can be downloaded here.

“In this day and age, when alternative investments have surpassed the one trillion dollar mark and are becoming mainstream, PRMIA is showing their traditional leadership offering a focal certification on the alternative investment space, from hedge funds to futures and commodities trading,” said Prof. Luis Seco, University of Toronto and President, Sigma Analysis and Management. “This will be an invaluable addition to help promote healthy risk management practices in this sector.”

This exam furthers the development of the risk profession as applied to hedge funds. The significant and valuable work of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analysts (CAIA) will be recognized with partial exemption from sections of the PRM Hedge Fund Risk Management Specialization Exam.

Questions for the exam database have been developed by industry participants from around the world. Contributions have been made by several individuals, including:

Rian Akey, COO, Cole Partners / Cole Asset Management
Marcel Beutler, PhD, Risk Management, RMF Investment Management
Keith H. Black, CFA, CAIA, Illinois Institute of Technology
Ashish Dev, Executive Vice President, KeyCorp
Armelle Guizot, Independent Author, Writer, Operational and Compliance Risk Management Consultant
Galina Kalcheva, CFA, Director, UBS Global Asset Management
Dr Guan-Seng Khoo, Head, Innovation Unit, Singapore Exchange
Pierre-Yves Moix, Chief Risk Officer, RMF Investments
Nawal Roy, Vice President, Moody's Investor Services
Rick Seefeldt, Investment Analyst, Man Investments/Man Global Strategies
Florian Stärk, Head of Risk Management, MEAG Asset Management GmbH
Dr. Michael Thiergen, PRM, Senior Portfolio Manager, Global Risk Management & Alternative Investments HVB Markets & Investment Banking Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG Munich Germany
Kathryn Wilkens, Ph.D., CAIA, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, Director of Curriculum

"The increasing impact of Hedge Fund activities on the financial markets is remarkable.
Understanding the complex nature of the Hedge Fund business and assessing the risks involved is a must for any committed market participant, said Dr. Michael Thiergen, PRM, Senior Portfolio Manager, Global Risk Management & Alternative Investments HVB Markets & Investment Banking Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG. “The PRM Hedge Fund Risk Management Specialization exam is perfectly suited to attain this goal."

Information is available by clicking here and by contacting PRMIA at certification@prmia.org.

About PRMIA and the PRM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. A nonprofit formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 36,000 members from more than 170 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,700 active candidates from more than 85 countries, more than any other risk certification program. The PRM is the higher standard in risk certification. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 08:02 PM | Comments (6)

October 12, 2006

PRMIA Adopts New Taglines

PRMIA, the PRM and the PRMIA Institute are adopting new taglines which better reflect our focus on standards-setting for the profession.

PRMIA or "PREE - me - ahh" has its origin in the term "premia", meaning something higher or something above the normal.

In keeping with this origin and our commitment to setting the highest standards, our new tagline is PRMIA - A Higher Standard for Risk Professionals.

The PRM has become widely known as the most challenging certification program for risk managers. Those who take on this challenge are distinguishing themselves as the best in the profession. Therefore the new tagline of the PRM conveys this as well: PRM - the higher standard in risk certification.

The PRMIA Institute continues to grow in its work to establish high academic standards, fund research, recognize excellence and to provide a new standard for public professional development programs. Its new tagline is: The PRMIA Institute - Setting a Higher Standard in Risk Education.

We're proud of how our volunteers continue to serve the profession. As we see risk management develop globally, we continue to strive for even higher standards and to set the expectations that these standards are expected of all Professional Risk Managers.

Posted by dkoenig at 07:32 PM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2006

PRMIA and The Insurance Institute of China to Host Enterprise Risk Management Forum in Beijing

The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) and the Insurance Institute of China are making final preparations for their Enterprise Risk Management Forum to be held in Beijing October 16-18, 2006. Through this international partnership, risk management leaders from around the World will be sharing the best practices of Enterprise Risk Management with the leaders of China's insurance industry.

Several PRMIA leaders are involved in this event.

The PRMIA delegation to China is being organized by David R. Koenig, immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of PRMIA and William Ding, Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, D. B. Zwirn & Co,LP, a member of the PRMIA New York Steering Committee and former Regional Director, PRMIA Boston. They are being joined by Raj Singh, Chief Risk Officer, Allianz, Tom Wilson, Chief Insurance Risk Officer, ING and former Regional Director, PRMIA Zurich, Erwin Martens, Chief Risk Officer, TIAA-CREF, Christian Jimenez, Chief Financial Officer, Ecureuil Vie and Regional Director, PRMIA Paris, James Tunkey, Chief Operating Officer-Americas, I-OnAsia and Regional Director, PRMIA New York, Leo M. Tilman, Chief Institutional Strategist & Senior Managing Director, Bear, Stearns & Co Inc, Xisuo Louis Liu, Portfolio Manager & ALM Specialist, Wellington Management Company, Phillip Straley, Partner, Global Financial Services Risk Management and Jonathon Zhao, Senior Manager, Actuarial Services, Ernst & Young.

“Risk is not only a common enemy faced by of all human races, but also a difficult problem to tackle by insurance companies and other financial institutions around the Globe,” said Dr. Zongjian Li, Secretary General of the Insurance Institute of China. “In order to facilitate information exchange and to learn from each other regarding the best risk management practices, the Insurance Institute of China (IIC) and the Professional Risk Managers International Association (PRMIA) will jointly host the first ever IIC – PRMIA Insurance Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Forum from October 16 to October 18, 2006 in Beijing.”

The delegation from the Insurance Institute of China is being led by Fengju Dai, Chairman, Insurance Institute of China and Dr. Zongjian Li, Secretary General, Insurance Institute of China. Joining Chairman Dai and Secretary General Li is Dr. Bingxing Hu, Chief Risk Officer, PICC Asset Management Company and former Regional Director, PRMIA Shanghai. A senior representative from the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) will also participate.

“I believe that the planned Insurance ERM Forum will greatly advance the on-going communication and collaboration between IIC and PRMIA,” continued Dr. Li. “I have no doubt that the forthcoming Insurance ERM Forum will make significant contributions not only to promote risk management education, but also to enhance risk management practices in Chinese insurance industry.”

The event is a highly personalized program, where approximately 100 of the most senior members of China’s insurance industry will convene.

“In order to establish an effective and complete risk management system, we have to leverage different roles and advantages of government regulatory functions and market mechanisms,” said Dongsheng Chen, Chairman and CEO of Taikang Life Insurance Company. “In a market economy environment, insurance is a basic tool for managing risks. Insurance will play a more and more significant role in mitigating risks associated with catastrophic disasters, in ensuring both security of human lives and safety of people’s properties, and in stabilizing a country’s economic development. “

This is an invitation-only event.

About PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. A nonprofit formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is a higher standard for risk professionals with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 36,000 members from more than 170 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRMTM) certification program, pursued by over 1,700 active candidates from more than 85 countries, more than any other risk certification program. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

The PRMIA Institute is setting a higher standard in risk education. It is a non-profit corporation formed to serve the academic, scientific and charitable mission of PRMIA. The PRMIA Institute partners with leading university programs around the world to develop best-practice curricula for graduate level study in risk management and financial mathematics/engineering, classroom and online educational programs for working professionals, financial support of scholarly work, publications like the Professional Risk Managers’ Handbook and scholarships to support the study of risk management and financial mathematics/engineering among lower-income individuals.

About the Insurance Institute of China

The Insurance Institute of China was established in Beijing on Nov. 1979, and is responsible for the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. As a nationwide academy, IIC is a non-profit society engaged in theoretical & practical studies of insurance, and composed of insurance companies, insurance intermediaries, provincial insurance institutes, relative colleges and universities, research and teaching institutes, and professionals in relative fields. At present, IIC comprises 128 members and 200 directors, including 57 standing directors, 1 honorary president, 1 president, 9 vice presidents, 1 secretary general and 9 deputy secretaries general.

The top authoritative organ of IIC is National Membership Congress and the executive organ is Board of Directors. IIC is responsible for China Insurance Regulatory Commission and Ministry of Civil Affairs of P.R.C. The philosophy of IIC is to abide by constitution and laws of P. R.C., stand by social morality, be engaged in theoretical & practical studies of insurance, academic exchanges and training, bring up the enhancement of management of China’s Insurance and expertise of insurance practitioners, and hence induce the sustainable development of Insurance.

Posted by dkoenig at 05:20 PM | Comments (1)

September 26, 2006

Technical University of Munich to Launch PRM Training Program - Joins Other University Programs in Support of PRM

We're very pleased to announce that the Technical University of Munich HVB Institute for Mathematical Finance will launch a new PRM training program in Munich this November.

The HVB Institute for Mathematical Finance joins other leading university programs that have identified the PRM as the higher standard in risk certification programs and are helping to prepare risk professionals for the challenge of this leading risk management certification program.

“We are pleased to work with a selected group of academics and PRMIA in setting global standards for executive and graduate level education in risk management and financial engineering," said Prof. Rudi Zagst, Director of the HVB Institute for Mathematical Finance. "It is our collaborative effort to achieve these goals by performing one of the most challenging certification programs for financial risk managers around the world, the PRM.”

To find out more about the PRM^TM training program at the Technical University of Munich, click here to download the course brochure

The Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program has received formal backing from leading universities in the risk management and financial engineering space. The University of Toronto Risk Lab, The University of Reading ICMA Centre, Technical University of Munich - HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance, National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering, the Macquarie University Applied Finance Center and a consortium of faculty in Paris representing ESCP-EAP, HEC, Ecole Polytechnique, Sorbonne and Universite Paris Dauphine, have all announced their endorsement of the PRM certification program as the global standard for risk management professionals.

The following academic institutions provide preparatory programs for those seeking to attain the PRM.

The following academic institutions provide preparatory programs for those seeking to attain the PRM^TM.

London: University of Reading - ICMA Centre

Munich: Technical University of Munich - HVB Institute for Mathematical Finance

Paris: ESCP - EAP and faculty from Paris' Top Universities

Toronto: University of Toronto - Risk Lab

Distance Learning: University of Reading - ICMA Centre

The PRM certification program is the higher standard in risk certification, being pursued by nearly 2,000 candidates in 88 countries, more countries than any other program. For more information on the program, please visit http://prmia.org/INDEX/prm-cert.php.

A Few Endorsements of the PRM program

"PRMIA sets the standard for education in professional risk management. All practitioners should be encouraged to advance their knowledge and enhance their credentials by gaining PRM certification."

-Dr. Linda Kreitzmann, Director of the Masters in Financial Engineering Program, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley

"A leading group of academics in renowned universities across the world have joined forces with PRMIA to organise and deliver essential training for those wishing to achieve professional qualifications. We have played an active role in the development of the PRM examination syllabus and we fully support this qualification."

-Prof. Carol Alexander, Chair of the Risk Management Department and Head of Research, University of Reading ICMA Centre

"I have been accepted for admission to Stanford and Carnegie Mellon - to their Master program in financial math and computational finance respectively. My application wouldn't have been so successful without the endorsement of the PRM. I'm proud to be part of an institution like PRMIA"

-Tan Heng Wee, PRM, Singapore

"The Paris faculty members of the PRM program, belonging to the best academic institutions in France, such as ESCP-EAP, HEC, Ecole Polytechnique or Université Paris Dauphine..., do appreciate the theoretical level of this international risk management course and fully validate its content. They consider that passing the PRM means a high level of expertise in the various areas of risk management (market risk, credit risk, operational risk...)"

-Prof. Didier Marteau, , ESCP-EAP

"PRMIA is the international leader in risk management certification and CSI wholeheartedly endorses its PRM designation."

-Roberta Wilton, Ph.D, President & CEO, Canadian Securities Institute, Toronto, Canada

Posted by dkoenig at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2006

PRMIA Institute Credit Derivatives Course in New York Fills

The PRMIA Institute Course on Credit Derivatives in New York this October has accepted all of the students that we can take for this session.

Delegates to the course include representatives from leading firms in the New York area, including:

* The Federal Reserve Bank of New York
* MetLife
* ING Investment Management
* GE Asset Management
* AIG Global Investment Group
* TIAA-CREF
* Bank Hapoalim
* Barclays Capital
* QuiC Financial Technologies
* SunGard Adaptiv
* LaBranche Structured Products, LLC

and more. Delegates are traveling to New York for this event from firms like:

* BP
* Fannie Mae
* Banco de la Republica - Colombia
* Deloitte & Touche
* National Bank Financial Inc.

PRMIA Institute intensive courses are strictly limited in class size to ensure personal interaction with the instructor.

Delegates who had hoped to participate in this course may consider registering for the same course in Toronto, November 8-9, 2006. We will also look to repeat the course in New York early in 2007.

UPDATE: We have added Credit Derivative courses in Chicago and New York during January of 2007.

If you are intersted in attending the course in Toronto, please note that the discounted registration for the course will expire September 30th.

The PRMIA Institute and Columbia Business School also offer a series of eight course groups, forming a Complete Course in Professional Risk Management, which will be offered beginning in January 2007. For more information on this program, please click here.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

September 05, 2006

Call for Papers and Presentations - 2007 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium

Building on the tremendous success of the last four years, the Enterprise Risk Management Symposium Program Committee and its sponsoring organizations announce both a Call for Papers and a Call for Presentations for the 2007 Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Symposium. The 2007 ERM Symposium is scheduled for March 28-30, 2007 to be held in Chicago, IL, USA.

Among the highlights include a prize of up to US$4,000 from the PRMIA Institute for the Best Paper: New Frontiers in Risk Management. The Actuarial Foundation is again offering a prize of US$4,000 plus up to US$1,000 in travel expenses to the best overall paper submitted. Other prizes may also be awarded.

Please read below for details on both calls, and be sure to mark your calendar to join us in Chicago March 28-30, 2007.

2007 Enterprise Risk Management Call for Papers

A call for papers to support the 2007 Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Symposium has been announced. The focus of the call for papers is Enterprise Risk Management: Analysis and Tools to Quantify Financial and Operational Risks Including Their Interaction.

The 2007 Symposium is seeking papers that explore risk management topics, with a focus on the analysis and practical tools related to:

Financial risks
Operational risks
Interaction between the risks, i.e., diversification benefits
Integrated ERM
Creating value through ERM

Key Deadlines:
October 1, 2006 – Deadline for submitting an abstract or outline of proposed papers to Jeanne Nallon.
January 31, 2007 – Deadline for submission of completed papers
March 28-29, 2007 – 2007 ERM Symposium

2007 ERM Symposium Call for Presentations

The Program Committee seeks to solicit ideas and identify outstanding speakers for the 2007 event. The following are suggested general themes for ERM sessions/topics. These are broad guidelines and the Committee welcomes additional ideas provided they fall within the scope of ERM. The intent is to address key issues and applications wherever ERM is practiced, including insurance, the broader financial services industry, energy, government or elsewhere. Both practical and conceptual presentations are encouraged.

What ERM means in a particular company or industry
Correlation, Integration and Aggregation of Risks Across an Organization
Value Creation through ERM
ERM Risk Reporting Formats, Dashboards
ERM - Theoretical Foundation
Translating Risk Monitoring and Measurement into Decision-making
ERM Frameworks
Risk Capital and Management, Economic Capital
Operational Risk Measurement

Please send your proposed session title, description, and speaker(s) to Erika Davis by September 15, 2006. Invitations to participate in the program will be extended until September 29.

The ERM Symposium is sponsored by PRMIA, the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries. The 2006 event was attended by over 550 risk management professionals including chief risk officers, chief financial officers, chief actuaries, risk managers, investment professionals, asset/liability management practitioners, and actuaries interested in risk management roles.

Posted by dkoenig at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2006

CFA Institute Recognizes PRMIA Institute Courses with Professional Development Credits for Delegates

The PRMIA Institute, which features partnerships between PRMIA and leading university programs around the world, is featuring two offerings of its popular Credit Derivatives course, both of which have been recognized by the CFA Institute with professional development (PD) credits for those who attend the course.

The PRMIA Institute is registered with CFA Institute as an Approved Provider of professional development programs. This program is eligible for 13 PD credit hourss as granted by CFA Institute.

To learn more about the PRMIA Institute, please click here.

Posted by dkoenig at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2006

Thank you to all who contribute to PRMIA

PRMIA's fiscal year ends today, June 30th, and we are pleased to report that another very successful year has just been completed. The success of PRMIA would not be possible without the contributions of hundreds of individuals who volunteer their time and share their knowledge, thousands of individuals who provide their financial support, our association and university partners, and the many companies that promote PRMIA's standards for the risk profession and sponsor our organization. With apologies to anyone we have unintentionally missed, we gratefully acknowledge our many supporters below and thank you for your membership in PRMIA.

Thank you! (click here)

Posted by dkoenig at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2006

PRMIA Institute Awards Best Paper in Risk Management at 2006 Financial Management Association European Conference

This month in Stockholm, Sweden, the PRMIA Institute awarded a prize for the top paper in risk management at the Financial Management Association's European Conference.

The winning paper was entitled Intraday Value at Risk (IVaR) Using Tick-by-Tick Data with Application to the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Our congratulations go to the authors and award recipients: Georges Dionne, HEC Montreal & CREF, Pierre Duchesne, CREF & Universite de Montreal and Maria Pacurar, HEC Montreal & CREF & Dlahousie University.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the use of tick-by-tick data for market risk measurement. The authors propose an Intraday Value at Risk (IVaR) at different horizons based on irregularly time-spaced high-frequency data by using an intraday Monte Carlo simulation. An UHF-GARCH model extending the framework of Engle (2000) is used to specify the joint density of the marked-point process of durations and high-frequency returns. The authors apply their methodology to transaction data for the Royal Bank and the Placer Dome stocks traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Results show that their approach constitutes reliable means of measuring intraday risk for traders who are very active on the market. The UHF-GARCH model performs well out-of-sample for almost all the time horizons and the confidence levels considered even when normality is assumed for the distribution of the error term, provided that intraday seasonality has been accounted for prior to the estimation.

The PRMIA Institute – A non-profit partnership between PRMIA and leading university programs around the world, focused on serving the educational, scientific and charitable mission of PRMIA. The PRMIA Institute sets best practice curricula for graduate programs in risk management and financial engineering/mathematics, publishes books like the Professional Risk Managers’ Handbook, now in use in over 105 countries, conducts public and private training programs and funds academic grants and scholarships in pursuit of excellence in research.

Posted by dkoenig at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2006

PRMIA Publications Releases Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Energy and Environmental Markets

PRMIA Publications today released the Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Energy and Environmental Markets

"This is a vital and timely text for financial risk managers," said David R. Koenig, Exeuctive Director of PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute.

Edited by Peter C. Fusaro, with contributions from over 25 leading authors, The Professional Risk Managers' Guide to Energy and Environmental Markets brings these important and developing markets to life for all financial risk managers.

The book contains over 450 pages, from introductory materials to more advanced risk management themes.

Available immediately, anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. You can learn more and purchase by clicking here.

Posted by dkoenig at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2006

Columbia Business School and PRMIA Institute Form Partnership to Deliver Risk Management Executive Education Programs

PRMIA Institute and Columbia Business School today announced their partnership to offer classroom-based educational programs to financial professionals in New York City beginning in the fall of 2006.

To meet the demands of risk professionals, the PRMIA Institute and Columbia Business School's Executive Education will jointly develop classroom-based educational programs that feature the top faculty of Columbia Business School. The classes will be available to the general public.

Read the Full Story.

Posted by dkoenig at 09:07 PM | Comments (1)

June 01, 2006

First University Graduate Program Built Around The PRM Certification and PRM Handbook

The ICMA Centre, University of Reading, has launched the first full-time Masters degree in financial risk management to encompass the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification syllabus and PRM Handbook in its curriculum. The PRM qualification is the leading professional qualification in its field with active candidates in more than 85 countries. The new Master of Science degree in Financial Risk Management has its first intake in October 2006.

The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), who certify the holders of the PRM credential, have built strong links with a group of well-known business schools, including the ICMA Centre, through the PRMIA Institute, where best practice curricula for graduate programs in risk management are being developed. Carol Alexander, the ICMA Centre’s research director is also chair of the Academic Advisory Council (AAC) of the PRMIA Institute. The AAC consists of internationally renowned academics that are dedicated to global outreach and the highest educational standards. In addition to the ICMA Centre, members of the AAC come from the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, Groupe HEC Business School in Paris, National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering, University of Toronto Risk Lab, Technical University of Munich HVB-Institute for Mathematical Finance, Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre and the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Representatives from each institution are engaged in supporting the risk management profession through PRMIA.

“The MSc in Financial Risk Management is bound to appeal to current and future PRMIA members. Membership is rapidly expanding so in future the ICMA Centre plans to offer both distance learning and flexible learning versions of the degree. Students now recognize the benefit of adding professional qualifications to their academic degrees and we have two other new Masters degrees with this facility: the MSc in Investment Management (linked to the CFA) and the MSc in Compliance and Regulation, linked to our NASD qualification,“ said Professor Carol Alexander, Chair of Risk Management and Head of Research at the ICMA Centre and Chair of the Academic Advisory Council for PRMIA

“PRMIA places great value on the contributions that the ICMA Centre makes to raising the standards of the risk management practice through its leading degree programs. We believe that our academic partners contribute substantially to the betterment of risk management practices worldwide through such initiatives,” said David R Koenig, Executive Director and Immediate Past Chair, Board of Directors, of the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA)

‘The ICMA Centre has been leading the world in establishing academic excellence in financial risk management research and education. Our success is based on the integration of applied finance theory and industry specific knowledge. PRMIA, with its forward looking approach to best practice in risk management, offers an ideal partner to complement and enhance the new masters programme,” said Professor John Board, Director, ICMA Centre.

About the ICMA Centre
The ICMA centre has an international reputation for providing quality undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programs tailored to the capital markets industry. Established in 1991 with funding provided by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) in Zurich, the Centre is housed in a purpose-built modernist building with state-of-the-art facilities including two dealing rooms using software similar to those found in major investment banks. Due to the success of the Centre and growing demand for their programs from a worldwide audience ICMA are investing a further £5million expansion to the building which will include an additional 50 seat dealing room, 150 seat lecture theatre as well as new seminar rooms and dedicated research area. The new building is expected to be open for students at the start of the 2008 academic session.

For more information regarding the programs at the ICMA Centre, please contact Samantha Heslop, Admissions Officer (s.heslop@icmacentre.rdg.ac.uk) or visit www.icmacentre.ac.uk.

About PRMIA and the PRMIA Institute
PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January 2002, PRMIA is the premier meeting place of the risk profession with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 33,000 members from more than 165 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,600 active candidates from more than 85 countries, more than any other risk certification program. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

The PRMIA Institute is the premier learning place of the risk profession. It is a non-profit corporation formed to serve the academic, scientific and charitable mission of PRMIA. The PRMIA Institute partners with leading university programs around the world to develop best-practice curricula for graduate level study in risk management and financial mathematics/engineering, classroom and online educational programs for working professionals, financial support of scholarly work, publications like the Professional Risk Managers’ Handbook and scholarships to support the study of risk management and financial mathematics/engineering among lower-income individuals. More information can be found at http://prmia.org/INDEX/institute01/.

Posted by dkoenig at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)

May 26, 2006

Sustaining Members Receive Custom News Clippings as Benefit

Members that opt to support PRMIA through a sustaining membership received a new benefit this week in the form of a customizable news clipping service, PRMIA eClips.

PRMIA eClips standard set-up selects news headlines for members based on their areas of interest:

PRMIA eClips can also be customized according to member keywords, providing a highly personalized service. In addition to world news, upcoming events at PRMIA chapters, PRMIA chapter news and PRMIA member weblogs are featured.

PRMIA eClips are delivered daily or weekly at member discretion, and draw from over 1 million news stories collected in the past week.

To join as a Sustaining Member of PRMIA, click here.

Posted by dkoenig at 12:31 AM | Comments (0)

May 09, 2006

Elizabeth Castagna of Fidelity International Ltd. Named 2006 PRM Candidate of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ELIZABETH CASTAGNA OF FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL, LTD IS NAMED 2006 PRM CANDIDATE OF THE YEAR

May 9, 2006 – The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), a worldwide nonprofit association of over 33,000 risk managers from 168 countries, has named Elizabeth Castagna as PRM™ Candidate of the Year for 2006. Castagna is Senior Manager, Investment Compliance Control at Fidelity International, Ltd. in Bermuda. The award, established in 2004, is the certification program’s most prestigious.

The PRM Candidate of the Year is selected from the top performers among all risk managers who passed PRMIA’s rigorous PRM certification examination during 2005. The winner is then chosen by a panel of leading risk management experts who review answers to five standard essay questions and interview each finalist.

"Every year we are impressed by the caliber of risk professionals that are pursuing and attaining the PRM designation," said David R. Koenig, PRMIA executive director. “This year’s award nominees, the best of the best, were exceptional. While the challenge to select only one winner was significant, we are thrilled to be giving this year’s award to Beth Castagna, who was the one to most differentiate herself across all of our evaluation criteria.”

Castagna is responsible at Fidelity International, Ltd. for managing derivative exposure monitoring. She conceived, developed and implemented a derivative and complex structured instrument monitoring system applied across approximately 1000 retail UCITS 3 mutual funds, pension schemes and other investment fund products with assets under management in excess of $275 billion. She is a founding member of Fidelity Derivatives Working Group which analyses and prepares the way forward in terms of operations, permissibility and policy for trade in new derivatives strategies and structured instruments. During her tenure she established the internal audit program for the investment compliance division which emphasizes preventive as well as detective controls. Honoring the value of education, she instituted a derivatives training program to empower staff. Prior to her work with Fidelity, Castagna served as Vice President, Senior Enterprise Risk Analyst at the Bank of Bermuda, Ltd and held posts with Crestar Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Cambridge Meridian Associates and Bank of Boston, where she began her career in 1988. She has earned a B. A. in Economics from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia and attended the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

“Beth Castagna has demonstrated an outstanding command of both the technical and organizational aspects of risk management,” said David Rowe, co-Chair of PRMIA’s Education and Standards Committee and Group EVP for Risk Management at SunGard. “Her insights were evident on all three aspects of the selection process, namely in the technical multiple choice exam, in her written essays and in her oral interview. Beth represents an outstanding example of the best talent in the emerging risk management profession.”

"As a PRM examiner, I was most impressed by the level of insight displayed by many of the candidates. Elizabeth Castagna demonstrated not only insight, but also a rare ability to communicate risk in a precise yet light-hearted manner, in a manner accessible to a wider audience. Risk communication is a core competency for the modern risk manager, and these skills were evident in abundance,” said Oscar McCarthy of Lloyds TSB Group Treasury and the PRMIA Education and Standards Committee.

Castagna commented on receiving the award, "I am extremely honored to be selected 2006 Professional Risk Manager Candidate of the Year. Considering that what began as an effort to simply expand my knowledge has resulted in such an award is humbling. Particularly, when viewed against the extraordinarily impressive quality of the other candidates. My sincere thanks to PRMIA and the judges who are doing so much to advance risk management best practices. ”

Past winners of the PRM Candidate of the Year Award include:

2005 – Rene Sanda, Treasurer, Banco do Brasil, New York

2004 – Tan You Leong, Operational Risk Analyst, OCBC Bank, Singapore and Francois Bourdon, Quantitative Strategist, Fiera Capital, Montreal

The following Professional Risk Managers’ were finalists for the award:

Dominik Dersch, PRM, HypoVereinsbank Munchen, Munich, Germany

Heng Wee Tan, PRM, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, Singapore

Rafal Lerski, PRM, BPS S.A., Warszawa, Poland

Michael Thiergen, PRM, HypoVereinsbank, Munich, Germany

The following holders of the PRM designation were awarded the 2006 PRM Award of Merit for their performance on the exams of the program:

George Bonne, PRM, KLA-Tencor, San Jose, United States of America

Lise Estelle Brault, PRM, PSP Investments, Montreal, Canada

Tamara Burden, PRM, Milliman, Chicago, United States of America

Michael Ege, PRM, Munich Re Group, Munich, Germany

Markus Hirschberger, PRM, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management, Munich, Germany

Kanat Khussainov, PRM, TuranAlem Securities, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Szilard Pafka, PRM, Paycom.net LLC, Marina del Rey, United States of America

Vishnu Ramachandran, PRM, Dun and Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited, Thane, India

Scott Warner, PRM, London, United Kingdom

Julian Wasik, PRM, Poznan University of Economics, Poznan, Poland

Ho Kei Yee, PRM, JPMorgan, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Guerman Zoubarev, PRM, Cascade Aerospace, Abbotsford, Canada

The committee members who reviewed the nominees included:

Oscar McCarthy, PRM, Risk Manager, Group Treasury, Lloyds TSB Bank, London, (Deputy Regional Director, PRMIA London)

Andrzej Kulik, PRM, Director, BRE Bank, Warsaw, (PRMIA Board of Directors, Regional Director, PRMIA Warsaw)

Hilary Till, Principal, Premia Capital Management, LLC, Chicago, (PRMIA Chicago Steering Committee)

Francois Bourdon, PRM, Quantitative Strategist, Fiera Capital, Montreal, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)

Tan You Leong, PRM, Risk Analyst, OCBC Bank, Singapore, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)

Rene Sanda, PRM, Treasurer, Banco do Brasil, New York, (2005 PRM Candidate of the Year)

Sunando Roy, Asst Adviser, Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai, (Regional Director, PRMIA Mumbai)

Karina Carrero, BRS Manager, Ernst & Young: Business Risk Services, Caracas, (Regional Director, PRMIA Venezuela)

Linda Kreitzman, Director, Haas School of Business, Berkeley, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)

Anastasia Marina, PRM, Principal Risk Consultant, SunGard Asia Pacific, Makati City, (Regional Director, PRMIA Philippines)

Elizabeth Sheedy, Associate Professor, Macquarie University, Sydney, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)

Kalok Chan, Chair Professor and Head, Department of Finance, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, Hong Kong, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)

Rudi Zagst, Professor, Munich University of Technology, Munich, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)

Ng Kah Hwa, Director, National University of Singapore, Singapore, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)

David Rowe, Executive Vice President, SunGard, London, England (PRMIA Education and Standards Committee)

About PRMIA and the PRM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is the premier meeting place of the risk profession with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 30,000 members from more than 165 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program, pursued by over 1,600 active candidates from more than 85 countries, more than any other risk certification program. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2006

Over 600 Attend PRMIA/SOA/CAS Enterprise Risk Management Symposium

Risk professionals from insurance, banking, energy, asset management, hedge funds and non-financial corporations joined academics and other thought leaders at the 2006 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium in Chicago this week. Over 600 people participated in this, the fourth annual event.

The event featured five streams and several general sessions. The general sessions featured insights from the following:

Geoff Kates, Chair, Board of Directors, PRMIA
Andrew Naughton, CRO, The Options Clearing Corp.
John Hele, CRO, ING Group
Dan Rodriguez, MD of Market Risk Management, Morgan Stanley
James Lam, co-Chair, PRMIA Education and Standards Committee
Dennis Chookaszian, Retired Chairman and CEO of CNA,
Rowland Fleming, Vice Chair, EDC and Chairman, Risk Management Committee
William Hogan, CEO of the Hogan Group
Reuben Hedlund, Partner, Hedlund & Hanley
Prakash Shimpi, Towers Perrin
Raj Singh,CRO, Allianz AG
Thomas C. Wilson, Deputy CRO, ING Group
Andrew Smith, Deloitte & Touche, London

Along with highly valuabel insight delivered in five detailed streams in the following areas:

Latest Developments in ERM
Risk and Capital Management
ERM Throughout the Economy and the Globe
Risk Measurement Issues
Advanced Topics in ERM

PRMIA thanks its sponsors, Teradata, the Haas School of Business MFE Program, Axiom Software Labs and McKinsey for their support through PRMIA of this event.

Presentations and recordings of the sessions are being added to the ERM Symposium Website regularly.

Next year's event is being planned for late March in Chicago, so block your calendar now. This is the top ERM event globally and is not to be missed.

Posted by dkoenig at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2006

PRM Candidate of the Year Finalists and Award of Merit Winners Named

April 11, 2005 – The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) today announced the winners of the 2006 PRM Award of Merit and the finalists for the 2006 PRM Candidate of the Year Award.

The finalists for the PRM Candidate of the Year Award were selected by a committee of academic and professional leaders from around the globe based on their performance on the exams of the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program and their responses to a set of essay questions about risk management. The finalists named today are:

Elizabeth Castagna, Fidelity International, Pembroke, Bermuda
Dominik Dersch, HypoVereinsbank Munchen, Munich, Germany
Heng Wee Tan, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, Singapore
Rafal Lerski, BPS S.A., Warszawa, Poland
Michael Thiergen, HypoVereinsbank, Munich, Germany

In addition to naming the finalist for the 2006 PRM Candidate of the Year Award, PRMIA announced that the following holders of the PRM designation have been awarded

the 2006 PRM Award of Merit for their performance on the exams of the program:

George Bonne, KLA-Tencor, San Jose, United States of America
Lise Estelle Brault, PSP Investments, Montreal, Canada
Tamara Burden, Milliman, Chicago, United States of America
Michael Ege, Munich Re Group, Munich, Germany
Markus Hirschberger, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management, Munich, Germany
Kanat Khussainov, TuranAlem Securities, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Szilard Pafka, Paycom.net LLC, Marina del Rey, United States of America
Vishnu Ramachandran, Dun and Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited, Thane, India
Scott Warner, London, United Kingdom
Julian Wasik, Poznan University of Economics, Poznan, Poland
Ho Kei Yee, JPMorgan, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Guerman Zoubarev, Cascade Aerospace, Abbotsford, Canada
The committee members who selected the finalists include:

Oscar McCarthy, Risk Manager, Group Treasury, Lloyds TSB Bank, London, (Deputy Regional Director, PRMIA London)
Andrzej Kulik, Director, BRE Bank, Warsaw, (PRMIA Board of Directors, Regional Director, PRMIA Warsaw)
Hilary Till, Principal, Premia Capital Management, LLC, Chicago, (PRMIA Chicago Steering Committee)
Francois Bourdon, Quantitative Strategist, Fiera Capital, Montreal, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Tan You Leong, Risk Analyst, OCBC Bank, Singapore, (2004 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Rene Sanda, Treasurer, Banco do Brasil, New York, (2005 PRM Candidate of the Year)
Sunando Roy, Asst Adviser, Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai, (Regional Director, PRMIA Mumbai)
Karina Carrero, BRS Manager, Ernst & Young: Business Risk Services, Caracas, (Regional Director, PRMIA Venezuela)
Linda Kreitzman, Director, Haas School of Business, Berkeley, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)
Anastasia Marina, Principal Risk Consultant, SunGard Asia Pacific, Makati City, (Regional Director, PRMIA Philippines)
Elizabeth Sheedy, Associate Professor, Macquarie University, Sydney, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)
Kalok Chan, Chair Professor and Head, Department of Finance, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, Hong Kong, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)
Rudi Zagst, Professor, Munich University of Technology, Munich, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)
Ng Kah Hwa, Director, National University of Singapore, Singapore, (PRMIA Academic Advisory Council)

The winner of the PRM Candidate of the Year Award will be announced on April 24th at the 2006 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium in Chicago.

About PRMIA and the PRMTM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is the premier meeting place of the risk profession with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 30,000 members from more than 165 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRMTM) certification program, pursued by over 1,600 active candidates from more than 85 countries, more than any other risk certification program. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2006

PRM Exam Volume Sets Record in March

During the month of March, nearly 200 PRM exams were administered worldwide, an increase of 130% from last year. For the first quarter of 2006, PRM exam volume has increased by 95% on a year-over-year basis.

The PRM continues to grow in stature as the top certification program for risk managers globally with more than 1,600 active candidates in 85 countries.

The PRM also remains the only certification program for risk managers to have received the formal public endorsements of leading university programs and leading businesses worldwide.

For more information, click here.

Posted by dkoenig at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2006

Academic and Industry Professionals to Judge 2006 PRM Candidate of the Year Awards

The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) today announced the members of the review committee for the 2006 PRM Candidate of the Year Award. This committee, comprised of representatives from academia and practice, drawn from diverse geographies and industries, will select the five finalists for the 2006 PRM Candidate of the Year Award and will participate in the selection of the overall winner.

The review committee members include:

The nominees for this year’s award come from eleven different countries:

George Bonne, KLA-Tencor, San Jose, United States of America
Lise Estelle Brault, PSP Investments, Montreal, Canada
Tamara Burden, Milliman, Chicago, United States of America
Elizabeth Castagna, Fidelity International, Pembroke, Bermuda
Dominik Dersch, HypoVereinsbank Munchen, Munich, Germany
Michael Ege, Munich Re Group, Munich, Germany
Markus Hirschberger, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management, Munich, Germany
Kanat Khussainov, TuranAlem Securities, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Rafal Lerski, BPS S.A., Warszawa, Poland
Szilard Pafka, Paycom.net LLC, Marina del Rey, United States of America
Vishnu Ramachandran, Dun and Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited, Thane, India
Heng Wee Tan, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, Singapore
Michael Thiergen, HypoVereinsbank, Munich, Germany
Scott Warner, London, United Kingdom
Julian Wasik, Poznan University of Economics, Poznan, Poland
Ho Kei Yee, JPMorgan, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Guerman Zoubarev, Cascade Aerospace, Abbotsford, Canada

The winner of the PRM Candidate of the Year Award will be announced on April 24th at the 2006 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium in Chicago.

About PRMIA and the PRMTM

PRMIA is the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. Formed in January of 2002, PRMIA is the premier meeting place of the risk profession with more than 60 chapters around the world and over 30,000 members from more than 165 countries. A non-profit, member-led association of professionals, PRMIA is dedicated to advancing the standards of the profession worldwide through the free exchange of ideas. PRMIA offers the only globally endorsed Professional Risk Manager (PRMTM) certification program, pursued by over 1,400 active candidates from more than 80 countries, more than any other risk certification program. More information can be found at www.PRMIA.org.

Posted by dkoenig at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2006

UPDATED: Record Week for PRM Exam Registrations

More than 280 PRM exam registrations were made by members around the world in the past week, toppling the previous record week.

Testing volume in February is running nearly double the volume of 2005 and volume is up 80% year over year, for the December through February period.

The growing list of endorsements by leading universities programs around the world and the increasing acceptance of the PRM by leading firms in the risk practice continues to contribute to our rapid growth.

With nearly 1,500 active candidates, from 83 countries, currently pursuing the PRM, it is the true global standard for risk professionals. Learn more by clicking here.

Posted by dkoenig at 08:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 25, 2006

Upcoming Changes to PRM Exam Syllabus and Fees Announced

Upcoming PRM Exam Syllabus and Fee Changes

Effective March 20, 2006

To: All current and prospective candidates for the PRM Certification Program

Subject: Upcoming changes to the PRM Exam Syllabus, PRM Candidate Fees

You can download the details of the changes by clicking here.

Executive Summary

To more clearly communicate the alignment of the exams of the PRM certification with the content and structure of the Professional Risk Managers’ Handbook (exams I, II and III) and to broaden the base of cases being covered in Exam IV, we will be making some changes to Exams I, II and IV which are scheduled to be published to our testing centers on March 20, 2006.

Most of these changes are cosmetic and do not represent a significant change in the content of the exam. Therefore, they should not require a major change in your course of study. The only exception to this is the addition of several new cases to Exam IV. For Exam IV, the changes will reflect a movement towards testing for key conceptual understanding of several cases and will focus less on detailed information from only a few cases.

No changes are being made to Exam III.

We are notifying you of this change now so that you can plan you test schedule accordingly. Training course providers have been notified of this change and will be incorporating changes into their programs as appropriate. The PRM Diagnostic exams will be updated to reflect this change just prior to the effective date.

As the cost of exam administration and candidate services continue to increase, exam fees will be increased modestly, effective March 1, 2006. You may purchase vouchers prior to March 1, 2006 at the current rate and may use them at anytime, even after the fee changes have been implemented.

Please direct any questions to PRM Candidate Support at certification@prmia.org.

Download the details of the changes by clicking here

Posted by dkoenig at 12:21 PM | Comments (1)

January 05, 2006

PRM Certification Grows by Over 80% in 2005, December is Record Month

The number of candidates pursuing the PRM designation reached a new high in 2005, growing by more than 80% versus 2004, including record exam volume in December.

There are now nearly 2,000 candidates and PRM holders coming from more than 85 countries.

Posted by dkoenig at 08:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2005

PRMIA Membership Passes 30,000

We welcome Narendra Singhal of the Punjab National Bank in New Dehli India as PRMIA's 30,000th member!

In the past year, nearly 10,000 new members have joined PRMIA. Members now come from 165 countries.

Posted by dkoenig at 02:47 AM | Comments (0)

December 14, 2005

National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering Endorses PRM Certification Program

The Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification program today received formal backing from the National University of Singapore Centre for Financial Engineering and its Director, Dr. Ng Kah Hwa.

As part of their endorsement, the NUS Centre for Financial Engineering will be developing preparatory programs for the PRMTM to be offered in Singapore and will be encouraging their students and local risk professionals to pursue the PRM.

Read the Complete Press Release

Posted by dkoenig at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

What can I do with PRMIA online?

01
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The higher standard in risk certification is the PRM. Demonstrate your world-class risk management skills.
02
Find Helpful Publications
The Professional Risk Managers' Handbook and other publications to help you in your work.
03
Attend a Training Session
PRMIA offers intensive classroom settings, featuring world-class faculty.
04
Take an Online Course
Over 700 online courses, from basic to advanced, available immediately
05
Find or Post a New Job
Tap into the worldwide network of job opportunities and potential employees from the PRMIA membership.
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Become a Sustaining Member of PRMIA
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09
Invite a Friend to Join PRMIA
Ask a friend to be a PRMIA Link, invite them to a meeting, there is something for everyone at PRMIA.

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