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risk manager

A risk manager is the individual responsible for managing an organization's risks and minimizing the adverse impact of losses on the achievement of the organization's objectives.

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(1) Traditionally, risk managers have focused on event risks, but some organizations have broadened the role to include other types of risk (e.g., operational risks). The risk manager is charged with identifying risks, evaluating risks, selecting the best techniques for treating identified risks, implementing the chosen risk management techniques, and regularly evaluating and monitoring the program. This person is also involved in the managerial processes of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling those activities in a business that deals with various types of risk. (2) Another type of risk manager manages the effects of financial risks on the organization. This individual is usually a treasury department employee who must maintain certain critical financial metrics within acceptable parameters. For example, interest rate risk is a bank's most important financial risk. Using various hedging tools and techniques such as derivatives, the risk manager makes sure that the bank's exposure to interest rate volatility is satisfactorily managed.

Related Terms


Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a holistic approach to identifying, defining, quantifying, and...

Event risk is the possibility of loss associated with fortuitous occurrences such as fires,...

Interest rate risk is the risk associated with any contractual agreement or financial transaction...

Operational risk is the risk of human, process, system, or technological failure as well as risks...

Risk management is the practice of identifying and analyzing loss exposures and taking steps to...

The risk management process is the process of making and implementing decisions that will minimize...