New York, Feb 10 (IANS) The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and its chairman Liu Mingkang were jointly named the Risk Manager of the year 2009 by a leading risk management association here.
“We are pleased to recognise CBRC and Liu Mingkang for their key role in orchestrating the recapitalisation of China’s largest state-owned banks,” Richard Apostolik, president and CEO of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), said Tuesday.

He praised CBRC and Liu for their efforts to implement numerous disciplined risk management practices, regulatory oversight policies and corporate governance initiatives, and for their strong commitment to the importance of prudential banking regulation, Xinhua reported.

Apostolik said the award, presented at the association’s 11th annual conference Tuesday, is in recognition of outstanding contributions to the financial risk management profession.

That “takes on special meaning at a time when the recent financial crisis left many of the world’s largest banks on the brink of failure”, he added.

Apostolik told Xinhua that it’s the first time that this award has gone to Asians, “an unanimous decision by the board”.

Liao Min, who attended the conference on behalf of CBRC and Liu, said the award is a “recognition for the past and encouragement for the future” for CBRC.

China will continue to implement risk management principles and further improve its banking risk management, he said.

GARP is the world’s largest and most authoritative industry association for financial risk management.

Its members include more than 100,000 risk management professionals and researchers from over 167 countries and regions worldwide.