RMA Selects First Recipients of Scholarship That Addresses Banking's Talent Gap

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Risk Management Association has announced the first-ever recipients of The RMA Foundation Scholarship Program for talented four-year college students committed to a career in banking.

For the 2016-2017 academic year, The RMA Foundation has awarded scholarships to 54 students from 44 schools to help defray the cost of their education. The names of the winners and more information about the scholarship are available at www.rmahq.org/scholarship.

The Risk Management Association, whose mission is to advance the use of sound risk management principles in the financial services industry, created the Foundation in 2014 and seeded it with $5 million to address the growing talent gap in the financial services industry. Considering the retirement of baby boomers and fierce competition among industries for the best and brightest students, there is a need to ensure that banking has the talent it needs to thrive in the coming decades.

"Awarding the first round of RMA Foundation scholarships is an exciting first step toward helping to secure the future of the financial services industry," RMA CEO Bill Githens said. "The accomplishments and enthusiasm of the students who received the awards were impressive, and reason to feel optimistic about the next generation of banking professionals."  

"Since its founding over a century ago, RMA has been instrumental in advocating industry best practices," Githens said. "Offering the RMA Foundation scholarships is one way that RMA intends to assist its members in dealing with the critical issue of cultivating sound risk principles in this next generation of bankers for the benefit of all of our stakeholders―the individuals, the institutions, and the industry."

Applications for the next round of RMA Foundation scholarships will be accepted in the fall. In addition to applying for scholarships, banking-focused students are encouraged to take advantage of free RMA student memberships. Benefits have been expanded to include mentoring opportunities, an online subscription to The RMA Journal, access to the RMA Xchange online member community, and invitations to attend RMA chapter meetings and workshops. Later this year, students will be able to earn the Credit Essentials Certificate that will demonstrate proficiency in business and financial knowledge and help certificate holders stand out to employers.

For scholarship eligibility requirements and more information on The Risk Management Association Foundation Scholarship Program, please visit www.rmahq.org/scholarship. 

About RMA

Founded in 1914, The Risk Management Association is a not-for-profit, member-driven professional association whose sole purpose is to advance the use of sound risk management principles in the financial services industry. RMA promotes an enterprise approach to risk management that focuses on credit risk, market risk, and operational risk. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, RMA has 2,500 institutional members that include banks of all sizes as well as nonbank financial institutions. They are represented in the association by more than 18,000 risk management professionals who are chapter members in financial centers throughout North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific.  

Media Contacts　 
Stephen Krasowski, skrasowski@rmahq.org, 215-446-4095
Frank Devlin, fdevlin@rmahq.org, 215-446-4137