-- SAS provides first complete OpRisk support training programme in industry --

14 March 2005 - SAS, the leader in business intelligence, is improving Operational Risk management across the financial services industry with the launch of a new operational risk e-learning programme. The first course of its kind, it was developed with a steering committee of financial services industry representatives from the investment banking, insurance and retail banking sectors following industry feedback that staff awareness is the main weakness in operational risk management initiatives. With improved awareness employees of all levels are able to better respond and react to operational risks within the organisation.

A 2004 survey of more than 250 financial institutions and regulators conducted by SAS and the risk magazine identified managing data quality as the No. 1 business issue, with respondents reporting difficulties in collating sufficient volumes of historical data and in ensuring reliable data. The second most pressing issue was the poor overall awareness of operational risk issues by staff, due largely to lack of clear education programs in operational risk, lack of communication and limited knowledge sharing.

"A basic lack of awareness amongst staff at all levels often results in insufficient data being collected. Employees may not always report losses and therefore impact the accuracy of data available. They need to be educated to a level where they are providing consistent information therefore improving data accuracy," said Peyman Mestchian, Head of the Risk Intelligence Practice, SAS EMEA.

"Organisations can use the most sophisticated analytical tools in the world, however if they are not working with comprehensive, real-world data they will miss the real dangers. Inconsistent and inaccurate data will only provide problems and create disagreements."

The training programme developed in the UK, will be available globally with regular updates. Fully customisable, the e-learning tool will consist of a one hour interactive computer-based training course with a quizzes and games that include the key concepts of what is operational risk, how it can be managed, the role of the individual and how financial services firms can better respond and react to risk-related situations. Participants will also be given the opportunity to take part in an organisation-wide survey to help determine the overall level of operational risk and the cultural attitude towards improving it.

"The SAS e-learning approach is a first for Operational Risk. It will enable cost-effective company wide training that will develop a greater awareness of the issues affecting financial services organisations. This move demonstrates SAS' commitment to the industry and its customers," concluded Mestchian.

About SAS
SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 40,000 sites - including 96 of the top 100 companies on the FORTUNE Global 500^® - to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organisations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know^®.

For further information, please contact Tara McGivern on:
Tel:01-6136406 or e-mail tara.mcgivern@irl.sas.com
For more information on SAS, please visit www.sas.com/ireland

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