WILMINGTON, Del. (April 13, 2005)– The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) has honored 9 PRM certification candidates from 2004 with its Focus Award of Distinction. The Focus Award of Distinction is given to risk managers achieving the top scores of all candidates in the world, on each of the required four exams of the PRM program during the prior calendar year. This is the second year the award has been given. The winers are: Exam I - Finance Theory, Financial Instruments and Markets Dominik Dersch, HypoVereinsbank München, München, Germany Rafal Lerski, Poland Kit Yee Ng, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement Tianqi Fang, Bank of America, Charlotte, United States of America Exam III - Risk Management Practices Frank Bensics, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, United States of America Stephan von Bismarck, Fidelity Investments International Ltd., London, United Kingdom Exam IV - Case Studies and Standards of Best Practice, Conduct and Ethics Anthony Okuefuna, Abbey National, Glasgow, United Kingdom Alexander Wilson, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten, The Hague, Netherlands Chandramohan Ganapathi, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait, Kuwait “The awards are given to recognize individual excellence in one of the fundamental areas of knowledge and understanding required to be a successful professional risk manager” says David Koenig, chair of PRMIA’s board of directors. "These winners were the top in the world and we draw special attention to the perfect score achieved on Exam II by Tianqi Fang at Bank of America." PRM candidates come from over 75 countries around the world, more than any other risk certification program.