Integration of Risk Advisory Firms to Provide Banks with Comprehensive Solutions for Market, Credit, and Liquidity Risk

ABINGTON, Pa., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- PA-based risk advisory firm, Bank Risk Advisors, is proud to officially open its business operations today after the successful completion of a four-firm merger. Bank Risk Advisors will provide market, liquidity, and credit risk advisory, measurement and validation solutions to community and regional banks in the U.S.

Bank Risk Advisors results from the integration of the ALMnetwork, ALM Risk Advisors, Chestnut Ridge Partners, and the community and regional bank division of Liquidity Risk Advisors, all of which assess financial risks and provide consultation to a number of U.S. banks and credit unions.

Leonard Matz has been appointed Principal of the Liquidity Risk division. Matz is renowned throughout the global banking system and has been providing liquidity risk training and consulting services to banks and regulators for the past sixteen years, including a two year association with the Kamakura Corporation and a two year association as International Director of Consulting for Interest Rate and Liquidity Risk with Bancware/SunGard. In addition to Matz, the Bank Risk Advisors management team will include Lawrence Poppert III, CPA, Managing Principal, Fred Poorman Jr., CFA, Managing Principal, and Michael Van Zandt, CPA, Principal.

"I am pleased to join the Bank Risk Advisors team to work with community and regional banks as they apply lessons learned from the recent crises and comply with extensive new regulatory requirements," said Matz, Principal of Bank Risk Advisors. "The growing intricacies and escalating regulatory conditions of the banking industry have resulted in the need for banks to put a highlighted focus on risk measurement and Bank Risk Advisors will help them do just that by providing banks with 'one stop' risk management consultation."

Additionally, Bank Risk Advisors will provide community and regional banks and credit unions with the following services:

• Market Risk: outsourced ALCO and Fair Value reporting featuring "what if" modeling via an advanced Software as a Solution (SaaS) platform at www.onlineALMnetwork.com
• Liquidity Risk: Policy and process review and implementation of industry best practices for Liquidity and Contingency planning policy, reporting, and risk management
• Credit Risk: Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) review, credit migration analysis and an integrated statistical-based approach to credit risk analysis and pricing
• Cross-risk: ALM and credit model validation, merger-related valuation services, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) assisted transaction loan valuation and loss share model validation, Treasury and Finance process reviews, and risk management training and education.

For more information on Bank Risk Advisors, please visit: www.almnetwork.com or www.bankriskadvisors.com.  

About Bank Risk Advisors

Bank Risk Advisors is a full-service risk management and consultation firm located Abington, PA. Bank Risk Advisors provides market, liquidity, and credit risk measurement and validation solutions to community and regional banks and credit unions in the U.S. Bank Risk Advisors is a "one stop" for risk management consulting solutions. Bank Risk Advisors' predecessor firms began operations in 1994 through 2006.

SOURCE Bank Risk Advisors