Enterprise Risk Management: From Incentives to Controls
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Great for the novice Risk Manager
  • This book is a must read for all mid-level and executive level managers
  • Remarkably Succinct Coverage of a Hot New Topic
  • A well written and thought out book on Risk Management
  • A Must Read for Risk Management
Enterprise Risk Management: From Incentives to Controls
James Lam
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  1. Making Enterprise Risk Management Pay Off: How Leading Companies Implement Risk Management Making Enterprise Risk Management Pay Off: How Leading Companies Implement Risk Management
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ASIN: 0471430005

Book Description

Enterprise risk management is a complex yet critical issue that all companies must deal with as they head into the twenty-first century. It empowers you to balance risks with rewards as well as people with processes. But to master the numerous aspects of enterprise risk management, you must first realize that this approach is not only driven by sound theory but also by sound practice. No one knows this better than risk management expert James Lam. In Enterprise Risk Management: From Incentives to Controls, Lam distills twenty years' worth of experience in this field to give you a clear understanding of both the art and science of enterprise risk management.

Organized into four comprehensive sections, Enterprise Risk Management offers in-depth insights, practical advice, and real world case studies that explore every aspect of this important field.

JAMES LAM is President of James Lam & Associates, an independent risk advisory firm. Before starting his own firm, Lam was founder and president of ERisk and partner of Oliver, Wyman & Company. In 1997, as chief risk officer at Fidelity Investments, he was named the first-ever Financial Risk Manager of the Year by the Global Association of Risk Professionals. Prior to Fidelity, he was chief risk officer of Capital Markets Services, Inc., a GE Capital Company. Lam graduated with honors from Baruch College and received his MBA from UCLA. He is also currently an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Babson College.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Great for the novice Risk Manager.......2006-07-27

If you are a budding Risk Manager/ Officer or are considering a career move towards Risk Management, this book is a good high-level illustration of what the major sleeves of Risk Management has to offer.

For the experienced risk professional, this is a bit too fundamental.

5 out of 5 stars This book is a must read for all mid-level and executive level managers.......2005-09-21

James Lam has written a remarkably clear and relevant portrayal of how [enterprise] risk management can be used to deliver real value in any business.

During the past year, I developed a course for the Executive MBA program at Villanova University. After reviewing several books on the subject, I chose this one because of its clear and comprehensive coverage of the subject matter.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a serious interest in understanding risk management from a holistic perspective. This includes risk professionals as well as those involved in line and staff functions.

5 out of 5 stars Remarkably Succinct Coverage of a Hot New Topic.......2005-02-04

You bought Jorion, Pearson, and Hull; you slammed headfirst into the quantitative quagmire of risk management, and you may even have passed the Financial Risk Manager exam, sponsored by the Global Association of Risk Professionals, but are you prepared to become your company's "Risk Champion?" Can you explain to laymen why loss distributions are not normal? Can you illustrate the "sweet spot" in the profit/risk tradeoff? If you aren't quite there yet, pick up James Lam's new book, Enterprise Risk Management, From Incentives to Controls. It's a book you can read on the five hour flight from New York to Los Angeles, and its melodies will linger in your memory. This book has changed the way I communicate with people both in and outside the risk management profession. Read it with a highlighter in your hand, and keep the book within easy reach.

5 out of 5 stars A well written and thought out book on Risk Management.......2004-10-05

This book provides practical and insightful look at risk management and how it can benefit companies. Reading and understanding this book should be a pre-requisite for any person going to take on management position.

5 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Risk Management.......2004-08-23

This book is not only about the theory of enterprise risk management, but also a summary of the author¡¯s experience in practicing risk management for more than twenty years. And what is more, there are several case studies that are deeply analyzed in the book. It is because of this that I think it is an excellent work on enterprise risk management. In addition, it is interesting that the Balance of the Yin and Yang in the Chinese traditional philosophy is applied as Lesson 7 by the author. It is a must read for all business managers and students who want to pursue a career in risk management.
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Against The Gods, a highly recommended book for MBA
  • So Close to Wonderful
  • Unpretentious and pleasant
  • Are you risk-seeker or risk-averse?
  • A remarkable rational attitude against rational Gods
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Peter L. Bernstein
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471121045

Amazon.com

With the stock market breaking records almost daily, leaving longtime market analysts shaking their heads and revising their forecasts, a study of the concept of risk seems quite timely. Peter Bernstein has written a comprehensive history of man's efforts to understand risk and probability, beginning with early gamblers in ancient Greece, continuing through the 17th-century French mathematicians Pascal and Fermat and up to modern chaos theory. Along the way he demonstrates that understanding risk underlies everything from game theory to bridge-building to winemaking.

Book Description

A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller

"Ambitious and readable . . . an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." -The New York Times

"An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." -The Wall Street Journal

"A lively panoramic book . . . Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." -Business Week

"Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." -The Economist

"[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." -Worth

"No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." -Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers

"With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." -John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University

In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today.

"An extremely readable history of risk." -Barron's

"Fascinating . . . this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." -Money

"A singular achievement." -Times Literary Supplement

"There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly-witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)-and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." -The Australian

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Against The Gods, a highly recommended book for MBA.......2007-09-18

The reason that I bought this book was because it was highly recommended by the teachers at my MBA class.

They were not kidding, from head to toe its very good and kept my attention till the end. It has been of great help to me. Aside the history content it helps you to think on how to mitigate risk and how improve the opportunities.

4 out of 5 stars So Close to Wonderful.......2007-08-14

Bernstein does an adequate job bringing the concepts together, but this is not a page-turner. I found myself reading on for the promise of insight, and he offers some, but the writing is a bit dull.

3 out of 5 stars Unpretentious and pleasant.......2007-07-10

Bernstein is an interesting writer since he is the consummate finance insider- a practioner, regulator and academic. This range helps and harms the book - in his efforts to render the history of risk, he delves into anecdotal caricatures while amusing definitely smack of basis risk with the underlying ideas that are provocative enough! I found the behavioural finance and derivatives section to be rather basic but then realised the book was written in 1996. It's a pleasant read but a more pragmatic introduction to probability is the infinitely witty Cartoon Guide to Statistics.

5 out of 5 stars Are you risk-seeker or risk-averse?.......2007-07-01

According to this book you are both, it only depends on the point of view that is presented. I enjoy the book from the beginning to end, especially the last three chapters. The history and analysis of rational behavior is enlightening, to anyone who has ever thought about the process of decision.

3 out of 5 stars A remarkable rational attitude against rational Gods.......2007-05-16

2 crucial ponits in this book:

1.Sociological: Bernstein describes how risk was first imagined as an essentially modern cultural form and significantly operationalized in early mercantile capitalist shipping, where individual losses in rapidly expanding global trade become large enough to encourage their socialization in insurance arranegemnts. This book implies some viable if crude forms measurement and scaling of risk. In his narrative, risk was there waiting to be discovered, carrying its own intrinsic meaning, which the visionaries, through their heroic powers of access to msteries of Nature, were able to reveal to men of commerce and others who could then drive the economic, cultural and technological revolution of modernity. We can note from this account of risk how an implicit normative framework`and a claim of control are advanced as defining features of this new state`of enlightenment. It is this scientific risk discourse which gives total control`of `the future at the service of the present', the implication being that risk`analysis identifies and domesticates all significant future consequences of the`relevant actions. In this way ignorance and unanticipated consequences - lack`of control - lying beyond the reach of existing scientific knowledge, thus`potentially embarrassing in future to risk assessment, are seamlessly deleted.`Risk is thus assumed to define the full sphere of conceivable meaning for considering`new technologies and their implications, and science reveals this`independent meaning. (Reference, Wynne:Reflexivity inside out?)

2. Historical: While it is apparent to historians that both Khayyam and Kharazmi were Persian thinkers, the author in keen to be selective inattentive to this fact such that he argues the system of numbers were imported from Arab world to West whereas it was firstly introduced to Arabs at the time Persia was invaded by them. Hence the author's historic mind-set starts from 12th Century while long before which is 500 B.C. risk used to be engineered among Persians. (Reference, Channel History-Engineering an Empire: Persia)
Financial Institutions Management (Irwin Mcgraw Hill Series in Finance, Insurance and Real Estate)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • A comprehensive book on risk management from a financial institution's perspective
  • Okay
  • A good entry-level book on Financial Institution Risk
  • Excellent introduction to risk management
  • The Best Book on Financial Institutions. Period.
Financial Institutions Management (Irwin Mcgraw Hill Series in Finance, Insurance and Real Estate)
Anthony Saunders , and Marcia Millon Cornett
Manufacturer: Irwin/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0072957468

Book Description

Saunders and Cornett’s Financial Institutions Management: A Risk Management Approach 4/e focuses on managing return and risk in modern financial institutions. The central theme is that the risks faced by financial institutions managers and the methods and markets through which these risks are managed are becoming increasingly similar whether an institution is chartered as a commercial bank, a savings bank, an investment bank, or an insurance company. Although the traditional nature of each sector’s product activity is analyzed, a greater emphasis is placed on new areas of activities such as asset securitization, off-balance-sheet banking, and international banking.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A comprehensive book on risk management from a financial institution's perspective.......2007-05-07

The text covers everything you would expect from a book about risk management: credit risk, IR risk, derivatives, securitization, etc. In my opinion the authors have done a nice job of explaining various models/concepts/ideas in a clear and concise fashion.

It's also noteworthy to mention that if you are using this book you're probably using it in a class. Head's up - the chapter problem solution keys provided by your professor from the publisher (the MSWord files the publisher distributes) contain a surprisingly large number of trivial errors here -- ie. incorrect algebra and other errors. The problems are otherwise helpful in terms of understanding the material nonetheless.

3 out of 5 stars Okay.......2005-09-24

Great deal, but the edition it was listed under was the worng one. I thought I was getting the right edition, but it was an older one. It still works though.

3 out of 5 stars A good entry-level book on Financial Institution Risk.......2003-09-24

Using only a minimal amount of mathematics,
Professor Saunders describes a very broad
range of risks run by a Financial Institution.

A particularly good description is given
for interest rate risk management of a
standard banking portfolio.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to risk management.......2001-08-22

The book is very good and it starts describing the special nature of financial institutions and the industry. Then, in the second part you have complete chapters relating to every risk management: interest rate risk (maturity, repricing gaps and duration focuses, liquidity (e.g.maturity ladder), market risk (standarized Basel Committee and VaR approaches) credit risk (including Basel Committe standarized approach, defalult risk models like credit scoring), operating costs and technology risk, FX risk, sovereign risk.

In the last part there is a good section which describes how to manage risks , including liabilty and liquidity management,deposit insurance, capital adequacy, geographic diversification, derivatives, the new credit risk management techniques and securitization.

I had the chance to have Profesor Saunders as a risk management teacher and I only say that as his classes, his book is great. It shows you the best introduction to risk management. It discusses about financial institutions (banks, insurance and securities). That book just helped me to see financial institutions under the risk focus. I really recommend this book to understand risk management.

5 out of 5 stars The Best Book on Financial Institutions. Period........2001-04-14

This is probably the best book in risk management available today. This is due to the combination of breadth and depth of the text. The author gently introduces the student to an important subject and explains with pains how to manage each and every kind of risk. The two chapters on Interest rate risk are absolutely fabulous. There is a sense of continuity because the concepts you learn in one chapter has applications in another. The problems at the end of the chapters are are also challenging and will require an in-depth understanding of the subject. This book is the ultimate.
Financial Risk Manager Handbook (Wiley Finance)
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • A must-have for the FRM exam
  • very satisfied
  • Good enough for what it claims
  • I Wish I Hadn't
  • Pro?! Huh?
Financial Risk Manager Handbook (Wiley Finance)
Philippe Jorion , and GARP
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471706299

Book Description

An essential guide to financial risk management and the best way to ace the GARP FRM(r) Exam
The Financial Risk Management Exam (FRM Exam) is given by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) annually in November for risk professionals who want to earn FRM certification. Written with the full support of GARP and providing questions and solutions from previous exams, this is the definitive guide for those preparing to take the FRM Exam as well as a valued working reference for risk professionals.
Phillipe Jorion, PhD, MBA (Irvine, CA), is a Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Management at UC Irvine. The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) oversees the FRM(r) Certification Program and is the leading association for risk professionals, with over 38,000 members worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars A must-have for the FRM exam.......2006-11-03

Jorion's book is indispensable (and, in my experience, sufficient) when preparing for the FRM exam; if you are taking it, think no more. An added bonus is the impressive number of typos and errors to test your knowledge :)

5 out of 5 stars very satisfied.......2006-07-30

good to have a wide range of subjects in one handbook. it seems I don't need the other library for my everyday work

4 out of 5 stars Good enough for what it claims.......2006-05-05

The people who have written reviews primarily have gripes that they didn't pass. They must have thought the book was THE ONLY RESOURCE they would need. I used this book and I did pass the exam. It wasn't the only resource I used though.

The publishers of the book even claim that using only this book will not help you pass the exam. It is an OVERVIEW text. It is a primer to help you delve into the material. This book will not substitute the large amount of qualitative reading and equation memorization that you'll need to do in order to pass.

I give it a 4 mainly because the book does what it claims and because some of the more negative reviews are too far-fetched. Remember to buy the version that applies to your test year.

1 out of 5 stars I Wish I Hadn't.......2006-03-30

This book cost me the FRM last year. I made it the center of my study program. The book's writing is atrocious; there are gaps in what is covered; and there are many errors and misstatements. I wasted six weeks struggling with this book. When I finally realized my mistake, it was too late to rescue my study program, and I failed the exam. I am very disillusioned with Jorion and GARP. This shoddy, overpriced paperback makes me think they are in it just for the money. This year, I have signed up for the CFA exam instead. So far, I have been very impressed with their study materials.

1 out of 5 stars Pro?! Huh?.......2006-01-08

Not detail in explaining concepts
Too few numerical examples
Content far too simple to be a desktop ref. in the dealing rm.
Poor editing and formatting
90% similar to the earlier edition.
The Essentials of Risk Management
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good Introduction
  • An excellent introduction
  • A Non-Mathematical Approach
The Essentials of Risk Management
Michel Crouhy , Dan Galai , and Robert Mark
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0071429662

Book Description

Risk management is no longer confined solely to risk management specialists. Stakeholders ranging from employees to investors must understand how to quantify the tradeoffs of risk against the potential return. The failure to understand the essential nature of risk can have devastating consequences.

Globally renowned risk and corporate governance experts Michel Crouhy, Dan Galai, and Robert Mark have updated and streamlined their bestselling professional reference Risk Management to introduce you to the world of risk management without requiring you to know the intricate formulas and mathematical details.

The Essentials of Risk Management is the first book to make even the most sophisticated risk management approaches simultaneously accessible to both risk and non risk professionals. It will help you to:

As a non-risk professional or board member, you are being called on more than ever before to make sophisticated assessments of your organization's risk exposures as well as play a critical role in its formal risk management process. The Essentials of Risk Management tells you what you need to know to succeed in this challenging new environment.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good Introduction.......2007-08-01


I would highly recommend this book to the begginer/budding Risk Manager

For the experienced risk professional, this is a bit too fundamental.

5 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction.......2006-07-11

This book provides an introduction to the field of risk management for readers who do not yet want to get deeply involved in the mathematical formalism that is typically used. The authors wrote the book so that it is "accessible to everyone", and they have done a fine job. Those readers who need a more quantitative treatment will have to consult another book or the vast research literature on the subject. Risk management, as they see it, is an attempt to estimate both the `expected' losses and the `unexpected' losses, and being able to differentiate between these two concepts goes to the core of the subject. Thus the book emphasizes the "intuition" behind risk management, and not the formalism. However, one must not conclude from this that "intuition" and "formalism" are distinct, and the belief that they are has resulted in a lot of confusion (and financial losses) in recent years. The authors clearly do not believe that they are, but have merely emphasized "intuition" from a pedagogical point of view.

The authors classify risk into eight categories, namely market, credit, liquidity, operational, legal and regulatory, business, strategic, and reputation risk. Financial risk, as they see it, is composed of two of these, namely market and credit risk. Their discussion of corporate risk management is very interesting, in that it begins with the observation first made almost forty years ago that the value of a firm is not altered solely by financial transactions. This is due to their assumption of the perfect market hypothesis, which effectively suppresses the ability of the firm to gain significant advantages over an individual investor. Therefore with this assumption a firm should not concern itself with risks outside of the ones that all other firms face. This is an interesting conclusion, particularly in the context of using hedging via derivatives, as it implies that it cannot compete with ordinary self-insurance, due to the presence of transaction costs. The authors discuss in fair detail why the perfect market assumption is faulty, and therefore why managing risk with hedging is a viable strategy.

The regulatory environment, particularly in the banking industry, has enormous ramifications for risk management, as the authors discuss in the book. This is due in part to the Basel Accords of 1988 and 1996, and Basel II which is due to be in place at the end of 2007. The Basel accords are essentially a standardization for capital reserves, defining a `assets-to-capital' multiple and a `risk-based capital' ratio. The authors review the 1988 Accord and discuss the elementary relationships involved, including the `Cooke ratio' and how to obtain the credit equivalent for the off-balance-sheet exposures. They also discuss the reasons for the 1996 amendment, which essentially were the result of the new trading activities that banks were indulging themselves in. It would have been interesting if the authors had included a (historical) discussion on the efficacy of the Basel Accords in suppressing banking failures. They do mention the fiasco with Barings Bank, claiming that its demise would have been adverted if it were prohibited from racking up huge exchange-traded futures positions. This is certainly true, but any regulation needs to be validated by historical data, to the extent that this is possible, and this requires of course tracking of the financial institutions that are under the umbrella of the regulation. In this regard though, the authors do view bank regulation as a `research lab' for risk management, implying that they are aware of the need for validation of any regulations that are actually put in place. It will be fascinating therefore to see the impact of the new Basel II accords when they become active, and indeed observe, if possible, any `regulatory arbitrage' that occurs. This also brings up the question of how to assess the quality of the risk management strategies of a particular financial institution. The authors spend a little time discussing this, with one of them referring to a method analogous to credit scoring.

No book on risk management could be complete without discussion of academic research on the topic, for the reason that much of this research has found practical application and has greatly influenced portfolio management and risk valuation. The authors review four theoretical models, namely modern portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, and the Modigliani-Miller theory of corporate finance. Even though the discussions are very short, one has to admire the authors' ability to avoid complicated mathematics in discussing all of these theories without sacrificing clarity. The more mathematically-mature reader may perhaps be annoyed with the omission of mathematical formalism, but a natural question that might arise for such a reader is whether or not risk can indeed be put in a general axiomatic framework that will encompass all of its different manifestations, such as credit risk, operational risk, etc. Such a framework would allow a complete mathematical characterization of risk, and would allow various general and quantitative statements to be made about it.

Due to the extent of mortgage portfolios in the United States at the present time, and due to the sensitive dependence of their values on interest rates, the authors spend a fair amount of time discussing interest-rate risk and how to hedge it with derivatives. Thus they speak of the `sensitivity' of financial instruments to certain risk factors, and study the case of fixed-income products via the `DV01' risk measure, which is the change in value of a security after a change in interest rate of 1 basis point. This measure gives a `first-order' approximation to the change in yield, but the authors show how to obtain a `second-order' approximation using the `convexity' adjustment.

For complex portfolios, the most popular method for risk management has been the value-at-risk or VAR, and so it is not surprising that the authors devote an entire chapter to it in the book. The authors view it as a more sophisticated method because of its ability to deal with volatilities and correlations. However, they point out that its efficacy is restricted to relatively short time scales and under `normal' market conditions. The fiasco at LTCM (Long Term Capital Management) is discussed as an example of the failure of VAR to measure risk over long time scales and under abnormal market conditions. They do not however give any detailed evidence for this claim, but a perusal of the research literature (surprisingly rather slim) reveals that LTCM made "major" errors in terms of their risk management, if viewed from the standpoint of VAR. This still leaves open the question as to whether it made "major" errors from the standpoint of some other method for measuring and evaluating risk that is possibly radically different from VAR.

5 out of 5 stars A Non-Mathematical Approach.......2006-04-19

The essense of investing is that increased risk should be compensated for by increased return. The problem lies in measuring and thus managing risk. Measuring risk is in the same category as predicting the future. The future is uncertain, the best guesses fail as bad weather, oil embargoes, or any of a whole list of other incidents change the situation.

Risk management isn't simply a matter of avoiding risk. It is instead a matter of identifying it, measuring it, appreciating its consequences and then taking actions accordingly. Insurance is perhaps the best example.

If a hundred sailing ships go out and 90 return, spreading the risk among all hundred ships compensates for the loss of the ten. And Lloyds is born.

During recent years several techniques have been developed to measure risk. This book discusses them in a non-mathematical way that can be used by both risk and non-risk professionals. In essence it brings sophisticated techniques to be accessible to a wide audience.
Risk Management and Financial Institutions
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Good book, bad binding
  • Good but.....
Risk Management and Financial Institutions
JOHN C HULL
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:
  1. Options, Futures and Other Derivatives (6th Edition) Options, Futures and Other Derivatives (6th Edition)
  2. Advanced Financial Risk Management: Tools & Techniques for Integrated Credit Risk and Interest Rate Risk Managements Advanced Financial Risk Management: Tools & Techniques for Integrated Credit Risk and Interest Rate Risk Managements
  3. Quantitative Risk Management: Concepts, Techniques, and Tools (Princeton Series in Finance) Quantitative Risk Management: Concepts, Techniques, and Tools (Princeton Series in Finance)
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ASIN: 0132397900

Book Description

John C. Hull’s Financial Risk Management text is the only text to take risk management theory and explain it in a “this is how you do it” manner for practical application in today’s real world.

We found that most professors are looking for a book that contains up to date information, and is written for application in the real work environment. Hull’s text offers students the ability to gain knowledge that will stay with them beyond college and be useful in the real world.

Based on one of the most popular MBA courses at University of Toronto entitled “Financial Risk Management”, this text focuses on the ways banks and other financial institutions measure market, credit and operational risk. John C. Hull, author of the book “Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives” which became the standard reference text for traders, wrote “Risk Management and Financial Institutions” for use in instruction as well as trade. The practical nature of the book lends itself to a “this is how you do it” presentation style that includes excellent account of the new Basel II regulatory requirements for banks effective in 2007.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Good book, bad binding.......2006-12-25

This book is similar to "Options Futures and Other Derivatives", John Hull's big book, but it does have roughly 40-50% new banking material. At least half is recycled from Hull's other book, which is a better book, in my opinion.

I don't know if this price justifies 50% recycled content. And the math is notably simple. The material on copulas might make it into a future edition of Hull's other book, but banking topics like Basel, operational risk, economic capital, etc. probably will not.

My main complaint is that the hardcover version of this book seems very cheaply made -- over the course of one semester, the binding broke on every one of roughly 20 copies in our class, and pages were falling out all over. I have a beat-up copy of Hull's other book, and the binding is still fine.

3 out of 5 stars Good but............2006-11-10

This is a good one, nut I am a little disappointing about the material
which is most covered in Hull's "Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives"
Except some idea about "Copula"!
The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • I am please, with the book condition and delivery!!
  • Excelent and Practical!!
  • The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems
The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems
Mary Lynn Garcia
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0750673672

Book Description

The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems guides the reader through the entire process of security system design and integration, illustrating how the various physical and electronic elements work together to form a comprehensive system. A great resource for both the security professional and student alike, the book is arranged in three major parts:

1) Determining the objectives
2) Designing the system
3) Evaluating the system

The book emphasizes the use of component performance measures to establish the effectiveness of physical protection systems, applying scientific and engineering principles to meet goals. The author takes a problem-solving approach to security and risk assessment, explaining the use of electronic protection elements and demonstrating how these elements are integrated into an effective system.

The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems contains numerous illustrations of concepts throughout and includes chapter summaries reviewing the salient topics covered. Each chapter includes appropriate references to additional information as well as review questions to test the reader's grasp of key chapter concepts. The appendices include sample models for system performance analysis.

Describes the process for estimating system performance against threats.
Approaches security in a practical, systematic manner based on proven and tested measures.
Offers process-oriented security that is "user friendly" to both the novice and the seasoned professional.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars I am please, with the book condition and delivery!!.......2006-08-24

I requested the book to be expedite and it arrived as expected. The book was in great condition. I am very satisfied with this purchase.

5 out of 5 stars Excelent and Practical!!.......2002-04-07

This book not only gives you a broad idea of what security is, but is very practical using it in your work, e.g. risk analysis. It is helping me a lot.
Best Buy!

5 out of 5 stars The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems.......2001-10-03

The recent tragedy of New York and Washington has emphasised the considerable need for this excellent book on physical security. Mary Lynn Garcia is to be congratulated on producing a book on physical protection systems that is design-based and is driven by principle rather than application. As a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National laboratories, Mary Lynn Garcia is well placed to have knowledge of best practice in design of systems, and the development of principles of asset protection. This book is markedly unique from other security publications on the market as it provides a well-structured and rigorous discussion of the major components of the principles of the protection of assets. The book entitled The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia has raised the standard of security references and texts to new quantum levels of quality and detail.

The design and evaluation process for physical protection systems is presented early in the book and provides astructured approach to the protection of assets. I am personally pleased to see that the defence in depth strategy of detection, delay and response has been applied as the foundation for the structured approaches to asset protection. The chosen approach features the major components of System Objectives, Design of Physical Protection Systems, and Analysis and Evaluation. This structure has the capacity to direct the readerr in a systematic and logical manner to the desired outcomes of the defence in depth strategy. A detailed account of the systematics of asset protection allows a well=balanced account of theory and application to be presented. An attractive feature of the book is the discussion on the computer analytical models for analysis, and the relationship of risk assessment to asst protection outcomes. The book contains review questions at the conclusion of each chapter, a glossary of terms for the unfamiliar reader, and several appendices of useful information relating to threat and analysis of risk.

...This book will prove to be most valuable for a range of academic, managerial, and practitionar personnel who have responsibility for asset protection, and should be in all major libraries and acquired by everyone with an interest in physical security.

Dr Clifton Smith
Associate Professor
Edith Cowan University
Perth, Western Australia
Risk Management and Insurance
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Risk Management and Insurance
    James S. Trieschmann , Robert Hoyt , and David Sommer
    Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    Book Description

    This proven, market-leading text provides a thorough, current introduction to risk management and insurance. It assists the learner in identifying, analyzing, and managing risk through insurance and alternative tools/techniques such as loss control, risk retention, and risk transfer. This edition presents an even stronger focus on managing risk and covers insurance within this context. Concepts of risk management are presented as they apply to business and personal situations as well as international situations.
    Structured Finance and Insurance: The ART of Managing Capital and Risk (Wiley Finance)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Structured Finance and Insurance: The ART of Managing Capital and Risk (Wiley Finance)
      Christopher L. Culp
      Manufacturer: Wiley
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 0471706310

      Book Description

      Praise for Structured Finance & Insurance

      "More and more each year, the modern corporation must decide what risks to keep and what risks to shed to remain competitive and to maximize its value for the capital employed. Culp explains the theory and practice of risk transfer through either balance sheet mechanism such as structured finance, derivative transactions, or insurance. Equity is expensive and risk transfer is expensive. As understanding grows, and, as a result, costs continue to fall, ART will continue to replace equity as the means to cushion knowable risks. This book enhances our understanding of ART."
      —Myron S. Scholes, Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance, Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

      "A must-read for everyone offering structured finance as a business, and arguably even more valuable to any one expected to pay for such service."
      —Norbert Johanning, Managing Director, DaimlerChrysler Financial Services

      "Culp's latest book provides a comprehensive account of the most important financing and risk management innovations in both insurance and capital markets. And it does so by fitting these innovative solutions and products into a single, unified theory of financial markets that integrates the once largely separate disciplines of insurance and risk management with the current theory and practice of corporate finance."
      —Don Chew, Editor, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (a Morgan Stanley publication)

      "This exciting book is a comprehensive read on alternative insurance solutions available to corporations. It focuses on the real benefits, economical and practical, of alternatives such as captives, rent-a-captive, and mutuals. An excellent introduction to the very complex field of alternative risk transfer (ART)."
      —Paul Wöhrmann, PhD, Head of the Center of Excellence ART and member of theExecutive Management of Global Corporate in Europe, Zurich Financial Services

      "Structured Finance and Insurance transcends Silos to reach the Enterprise Mountaintop. Culp superbly details integrated, captive, multiple triggers and capital market products, and provides the architectural blueprints for enterprise risk innovation."
      —Paul Wagner, Director, Risk Management, AGL Resources Inc.
      The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century
      Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
      • The problem is ambiguity and uncertainty,not risk alone
      • Good for a Laugh
      • Interesting read, author is quite optimistic.
      • A fascinating alternative view of the financial system
      • A Must Read!
      The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century
      Robert J. Shiller
      Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      ASIN: 0691120110

      Book Description

      In his best-selling Irrational Exuberance, Robert Shiller cautioned that society's obsession with the stock market was fueling the volatility that has since made a roller coaster of the financial system. Less noted was Shiller's admonition that our infatuation with the stock market distracts us from more durable economic prospects. These lie in the hidden potential of real assets, such as income from our livelihoods and homes. But these ''ordinary riches,'' so fundamental to our well-being, are increasingly exposed to the pervasive risks of a rapidly changing global economy. This compelling and important new book presents a fresh vision for hedging risk and securing our economic future.

      Shiller describes six fundamental ideas for using modern information technology and advanced financial theory to temper basic risks that have been ignored by risk management institutions--risks to the value of our jobs and our homes, to the vitality of our communities, and to the very stability of national economies. Informed by a comprehensive risk information database, this new financial order would include global markets for trading risks and exploiting myriad new financial opportunities, from inequality insurance to intergenerational social security. Just as developments in insuring risks to life, health, and catastrophe have given us a quality of life unimaginable a century ago, so Shiller's plan for securing crucial assets promises to substantially enrich our condition.

      Once again providing an enormous service, Shiller gives us a powerful means to convert our ordinary riches into a level of economic security, equity, and growth never before seen. And once again, what Robert Shiller says should be read and heeded by anyone with a stake in the economy.

      Customer Reviews:

      1 out of 5 stars The problem is ambiguity and uncertainty,not risk alone.......2005-09-08

      The major problem with this book is Shiller's basic misconception of what the major problem is concerning decision making about the future ,given the incomplete amount of relevant information available in the past and the present,based on what D.Ellsberg called ambiguous probabilities, J M Keynes called probabilities with low weight(uncertainty),and Benoit Mandelbrot called wild risk(as opposed to the mild risk of the normal probability distribution).Shiller bases his understanding on the "new"behavioral economics associated with the work of Tversky,Kahneman,Thaler,etc.This kind of approach emphasizes not the major problems of ambiguity,uncertainty,or wild risk of Ellsberg,Keynes,and Mandelbrot,but relatively mild problems associated with the Allais Paradox(certainty,reflection,translation,and preference reversal effects plus other assorted anomalies).The problem is that the Tversky-Kahneman approach ,and other associated approaches allied with them, are based fundamentally on the view that the normal distribution is the correct distribution to use for educated,rational decision makers.The problem ,then,is that decision makers in general are not rational;they are irrational and uneducated decision makers ,who allow their emotions,combined with their hopes and fears,to influence their decision making .All the anomalous behavior can be traced to the basic irrationality and ignorance of decision makers,who supposedly resort to all kinds of heuristic shortcuts because they have not mastered the fields of statistics and probability correctly.The position of Ellsberg,Keynes,and Mandelbrot is completely different.The decision maker is rational,but must "rely" on probabilities that he knows are unreliable,vague,ambiguous,unclear,and uncertain.In such a world the attempt to gain additional information,as in the stock market,leads to herd,crowd,and cascade effects as each individual decision maker attempts to obtain a little, additional amount of relevant information from other sources that he feels are better informed.Thus,it is the ambiguity or uncertainty of the future that leads to the creation of bubbles,manias,panics,and crashes.These events have little to do with the Tversky-Kahneman approach.The normal probability distribution is completely worthless as a guide to action in the stock market and other financial markets in the face of ambiguity ,uncertainty,or wild risk.In his preface(pp.ix-x),Shiller claims that"...economic thinkers have been limited by the state of relevant risk management principles of their day".Shiller claims that Keynes did not have command of such risk management ideas.The fact is that Keynes,Ellsberg,and Mandelbrot have forgotten more about these ideas than Shiller will ever know.All seven of Shiller's new types of markets and new types of insurance totally ignore the fundamental problem of ambiguity/uncertainty.They are put forth in the misbelief that the kind of decision making problems examined by Tversky-Kanheman are the main explanation for the boom-bust nature of financial markets , the volatility that results,and the unstable nature of such markets in a capitalist system.Shiller needs to completely rewrite this book and base it on a foundation of Keynes,Ellsberg,and Mandelbrot.

      1 out of 5 stars Good for a Laugh.......2005-08-06

      What an odd book. Shiller reviews the up-sides of multiple forms of insurance without a thought to the down-sides. How much would being insured for every possible eventuality cost the user?

      At times, I tended to agree with the reviewer quoted on the back cover -- 'pleasantly utiopian'. At other times, I more agreed with my father, who said, after I read aloud a passage about the draconian surveilance measures needed to enforce some of the insurance contracts Shiller advocates: 'He's a very bad man.'

      2 out of 5 stars Interesting read, author is quite optimistic........2005-04-08

      This book is very interesting, but I think that the author in may be a bit full of himself. This is the same guy who wrote the book 'Irrational Exuberance' months after the stock market peaked in January 2000 and claims to have predicted it. I feel that most of the hype about Robert Shiller is Irrationally Exuberant. However this does not mean this book is not worth looking at. It has some interesting proposals, although many of them are either far-fetched or dangerously close to a creating a corporate Orwellian state.

      4 out of 5 stars A fascinating alternative view of the financial system.......2004-09-22

      Shiller is a visionary economist. The problem with visionaries is that they do not always see the world the same way as everyone else.

      This book outlines how Shiller believes a range of innovative risk management products could change the international financial system, and at the same time raise the living standards of ordinary people. Shiller wants to create derivative products which would allow people to use financial markets to hedge against loss of income, or the decline in the value of their house, for example.

      Now this is pretty daunting stuff for the average reader, and I doubt that most of the people Shiller wants to help would fully appreciate the complexities of the things he advocates.

      The other problem I have is that I simply don't believe all of Shiller's ideas are feasible. Moreover, even he would have to admit it is impossible to eliminate risk from life, yet that is what he tries to achieve.

      I think it is a terrific book for those who want to ponder "what if." It can be a hard read though.

      5 out of 5 stars A Must Read!.......2004-06-12

      Economist Robert Shiller became a household name when he published his previous bestseller Irrational Exuberance just as the dot.com boom was peaking. In The New Financial Order, he capitalizes on his celebrity to put forward a thoughtful, detailed proposal for managing economic risks. This highly readable book portrays a future in which many serious individual financial risks are dispersed to savvy global investors, thanks to technology. Imagine violinists being able to insure their careers in addition to their Stradivarius instruments, developing countries securing generous loans from the first world by tying the repayment schedules to their future GDPs and a revamped tax system preventing the gap between rich and poor from widening. We suggest this book to risk-management professionals who want to step back and look at the big picture, as well as to anyone who has a stake in creating new financial products to meet twenty-first century needs.

      Books:

      1. Essentials of Corporate Finance (Mcgraw-Hill/Irwin Series in Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate)
      2. Essentials of Health Care Finance
      3. Essentials of Health Care Finance, Fifth Edition
      4. Essentials of Modern Business Statistics (with CD-ROM)
      5. Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality
      6. Financial Management: Principles and Applications (10th Edition)
      7. Financial Markets & Corporate Strategy
      8. Financial Modeling - 2nd Edition: Includes CD
      9. Financial Modeling - 2nd Edition: Includes CD
      10. Financial Reporting and Analysis (3rd Edition)

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