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They've shared their expertise with senior executives from the Chinese financial services sector for years. Now, the University of Toronto's risk management experts are forging a new partnership with China's banks.

On July 3, U of T's  Rotman School of Management signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Banking Association (CBA) which provides the school with the opportunity to be a provider of risk management programs to the association's 152 banks and financial services companies.

The CBA is overseen by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and is responsible for training and development of all Chinese banks, including the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of Communications, often referred to as the Big 5.

David Mulroney, Canada’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, led the delegation from Canada at the signing ceremony in Beijing. He was accompanied by Rotman Vice Dean Jim Fisher, Professor Wendy Dobson, co-director of the Rotman Institute for International Business and representatives from a number of Canadian banks and the Canada China Business Council.

Yang Zaiping, Executive Vice President, China Banking Association, said he hopes to "bring about new standards for the Chinese banking industry as well as enhance communication and cooperation with the Canadian banking industry" through this partnership with the Rotman School in the area of risk management training for executives.
 
“The combination of the strength of our risk management faculty, its experience delivering programming to senior executives from China and its close ties to the Canadian banking industry made the Rotman School a natural partner,” said Fisher, who also holds the Marcel Desautels Chair in Entrepreneurship at the Rotman School.
 
“With the release of the new regulatory capital accord in China and Basel II and III globally, the CBRC is committed to ensuring that the banks it supervises are able to meet these requirements appropriately,” said Dobson. “The training focused on building robust risk management capabilities and risk cultures that we are proposing will greatly assist the Chinese banking sector as it continues to mature and expand.”
 
Rotman Executive Programs and the CBA intend to pilot a two-week risk management program for banking executives and a longer eight-week program for senior managers and directors in the coming year. Participating Rotman faculty will include globally renowned risk management expert John Hull, a professor and the Maple Financial Chair in Derivatives and Risk Management; as well as risk experts Professor Alan White, the Sit/Mitchelson Chair in Investment Strategy and Professor Peter Christoffersen. Program participants will engage in a mixture of classroom-based learning and hands-on activities through the Rotman Financial Research and Trading Lab and industry exposure.
 
CBA’s interest in a partnership with Rotman Executive Programs stems from its lengthy track record of training senior executives from the Chinese financial services sector. In addition, Rotman Executive Programs has trained groups from the China Development Bank and China Everbright Group and sent faculty to China to teach in management programs hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and University of International Business and Economics (UIBE).
 
The Rotman School also met with the China National Association of Finance Companies (CNAFC) while in Beijing and discussed opportunities for training and future cooperation.
 
Ms. Wang Yanlin, Executive Vice President,  China National Association of Finance Companies said that "the visit from Canada Financial Education Delegation will greatly improve understanding, reinforce communication, deepen discussion and initiate co-operation between CNAFC and Rotman.”
 
Rotman Executive Programs was recently ranked #1 in the world for New Skills and Learning by the Financial Times for the second year in a row and holds top ten rankings for Preparation, Course Design, Aims Achieved and Faculty. Last year it offered over 100 programs and trained over 4,500 participants. Over a third of its participants were at the C-suite or vice president level. It specializes in areas including finance, leadership, governance and Integrative Thinking.
 
The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world’s most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. The School is currently raising $200 million to ensure Canada has the world-class business school it deserves. For more information, visit .