Financial Risk Manager (FRM(R)) Program Reaches New Milestone

Financial Risk Manager (FRM(R)) Program Reaches New Milestone

October 19, 2007

Double digit record growth reaffirms the global recognition
and acceptance of the FRM designation

    NEW YORK and LONDON, Oct. 19 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
Financial Risk Manager (FRM(R)) Program reached an all-time
high in candidate registrations in 2007 with 10,135,
representing a 25% increase from the 2006 total of 8,077,
the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP:
www.garp.org ) announced today. 

    "With the increasing complexity of financial
instruments and trading strategies, the demand for risk
management skills is growing quickly.  It is gratifying for
GARP and the FRM Committee that the FRM exam is chosen by so
many individuals to demonstrate their command of risk
management practices, concepts and theories," states
Dr. Rene Stulz, Chairman of the FRM Committee and member of
the GARP Board of Trustees. "They understand that the
FRM Committee has high standards and that they will be
rewarded professionally for meeting them."

    Highly sought after, the FRM designation is gaining
momentum annually. In fact, the FRM program has experienced
a compounded annual growth rate of 22% over the last 6
years, higher than any other financial certification
program in any 6-year period in history.  The FRM exam was
first administered in 1997 with only 108 registrants and 7
testing locations. Now there are 10,135 candidates
registered in 73 testing locations for this year's FRM
examination to be held on November 17th.

    The FRM program has also seen an increase in employers
encouraging their employees to obtain the FRM designation
as well as hiring managers requiring it for senior level
jobs. Companies and organizations with 5 or more FRM
registrants grew from only 105 in 2003 to 335 in 2007. 

    "The FRM designation is proving year after year to
be a valuable credential to employers at commercial and
investment banks, insurance firms, brokerage firms,
corporations, consulting firms, asset management firms,
regulatory bodies, academic institutions, corporate
treasury operations and software vendors worldwide"
said Richard Apostolik, GARP President and CEO. "Based
on its growth, earning the FRM designation has become the
standard financial risk managers must meet in order to
objectively demonstrate competence in the profession of
financial risk management.  We see more and more
established firms such as KPMG, Morgan Stanley, Genworth
Financial and NY Life requesting that their candidates for
senior level risk manager positions have the FRM."

    About GARP

    The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) is
a not-for-profit independent association of over 67,000
risk management practitioners and researchers representing
banks, investment management firms, government agencies,
regulatory bodies, academic institutions and corporations
from more than 167 countries worldwide. It also administers
the Financial Risk Manager (FRM(R)) examination, the world's
premier certification for the financial risk professional.
GARP's mission is to be the leading professional
association for risk managers, managed by and for its
members dedicated to the advancement of the risk profession
through education, training an the promotion of best
practices globally. http://www.garp.org

    If you would like more information about this topic, or
to schedule an interview, please call Greg Winsper at +1
201-719-7240 or e-mail Greg at [e-mail]


     Contact: Greg Winsper
     Global Association of Risk Professionals
     111 Town Square Place
     Suite 1215
     Jersey City, NJ 07310
     Phone: [phone]
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     Email: [e-mail]