RMA's 'Principles of Ethical Conduct' Now Available to Financial Services Industry

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Jul 19, 2019, 10:37 ET

PHILADELPHIA, July 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Risk Management Association (RMA), which has been setting standards that benefit the financial industry and its customers for over a century, has issued the first-ever uniform set of ethical principles solely intended for the industry.

RMA President and CEO Nancy Foster stated, "At a time when trust in the financial services industry is more crucial than ever, the principles encourage honest conduct, fair dealing, proper handling of conflicts of interest, full disclosure, compliance, and acting with integrity while contributing to a safe and inclusive work environment."

The Principles of Ethical Conduct are nine "rules of reason" followed in each case by language that provides meaningful context. RMA invites financial institutions to endorse the Principles, which are available at rmahq.org, and use them to create or supplement their own codes of ethics and conduct.

The Principles continue RMA's contributions as a thought leader on matters of culture and conduct, following the issuance in recent years of both a culture framework, conduct risk framework, and a definition of conduct risk. Like the Principles, the culture framework, conduct risk framework, and conduct risk definition are available at rmahq.org. The Principles were crafted by RMA's Operational Risk and Enterprise Risk Management Councils, volunteer bodies where financial industry leaders give of their time to surface and promote best practices in risk management.

"RMA recognizes the need for a uniform and voluntary set of ethical principles that can be useful to the entire financial industry," said Foster. "With a growing number of technologically advanced competitors battling for market share, financial institutions need to earn and maintain trust of the customers. The way to do that is through acting ethically and through dedication to customers and all stakeholders."

"We are privileged to work in an industry that helps families, businesses, and communities achieve their dreams," said RMA Chair and Zions Bancorporation Chief Risk Officer Edward Schreiber. "RMA's Principles of Ethical Conduct remind us of the trust placed in us and our responsibility to honor it."

RMA has been setting standards for the financial industry since its founding in 1914, when it began efforts to help lenders make more prudent credit decisions. This year marks the 100^th anniversary of RMA's Statement Studies product, which provides lenders the data they need to analyze the credit risk of borrowers based on the standards of particular industries.

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 18,000 individuals located throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia/Pacific.

SOURCE The Risk Management Association