Risk Management

Rating:
Summary: Good book on risk management, February 4, 2002
Review: I bought this book because some readers highly recommended it. I'm a financial derivatives strategist and risk management consultant. When a reviewed the book I disappointed in five main particular points: 1) The chapter on VaR is unsatisfactory and insufficient. The authors discuss this subject in a general approach. From my view point I have a preference for Jorion's Value At Risk. 2) There is no discussion about GARCH models, which decrease the importance of this book. I recognise "Risk Management" is a great book. It's a vast encyclopaedia of risk. 3) There's a great discussion of all types of risk, but without any practical solved case. This particular point demerit the seriousness and greatness of the book. 4) The level of mathematics in the book is a little advanced and without any support en practical cases, these poor numerical exercises and calculus tools are useless. 5) Montecarlo simulation approach is bad. There is a great discussion on this subject in Hull's Options, Futures and other derivatives, where the theme is practical, objective and concise. Finally and taking into account these five particular disadvantages, I'll give my rating to this book: 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Vast but uneven coverage
Review: I did like this book for its ambition to touch all the bases of risk management, and it does well on that score. It doesn't cover all the bases well, however. Once again, the kick-off is VAR, but the limitations of VAR aren't spelled out as well as they should be. Current products and their risks are not explained. There are virtually no practical examples of the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches, and that is a significant flaw for a risk book, albeit it is true of most of them.

Risks of many products such as credit derivatives cannot be adequatley measured by conventional methodology.

The subject of practical examples of risk (and hdeges) introduced by credit derivatives is comprehensively - and well- covered in "Credit Derivatives and Synthetic Securitization" by Tavakoli. Highly recommended for this subject and the treatment of ambiguity of conventional methods in general.

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss it
Review: I think it the best book about Risk management I read so far. I was impressed even by the way they treat market risk although it does not seem their main interest. The chapter on VaR is much better than a whole book on it. Great!!! Everyone should have a copy...

Rating:
Summary: Risk Management
Review: Risk Management by Michel Crouhy; A consolidation of the entire field of risk management, clarifying some of the confusion that has permeated the marketplace due to global competition and other factors. Covers all of the strategies necessary to minimize risk.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting and highly recommended.
Review: This book is a most systematic and comprehensive overview of modern financial risk management with an emphasis on banking. It is an encyclopedia of risk, including both regulatory and practitioner viewpoints. The book is based on the rich experience of the team of authors, who are well known in both the academic world and Wall Street. It provides an inside look at many aspects of financial risks including market, credit, liquidity and operational risks. The book is mainly oriented toward banks, but it also includes a very interesting chapter on risk management in nonbank corporations. The book is well suited to be a textbook for a course as well as a handbook for a market professional. Very interesting and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting and highly recommended.
Review: This book is a most systematic and comprehensive overview of modern financial risk management with an emphasis on banking. It is an encyclopedia of risk, including both regulatory and practitioner viewpoints. The book is based on the rich experience of the team of authors, who are well known in both the academic world and Wall Street. It provides an inside look at many aspects of financial risks including market, credit, liquidity and operational risks. The book is mainly oriented toward banks, but it also includes a very interesting chapter on risk management in nonbank corporations. The book is well suited to be a textbook for a course as well as a handbook for a market professional. Very interesting and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive and excellent
Review: This book is the most comprehensive treatment I've seen of financial risk management, particularly from a banking perspective. It covers both the regulatory and practitioner perspectives of modern risk management -- it's a veritable encyclopedia.

It's drawn from the wealth of experience of the authors, who are well known in both the academic world and on Wall St.

I guess what I like most about the book is the inside look it provides at the various aspects of financial risks -- no other book does it better, and I found the discussion enthralling.

While mainly geared toward banks, the book also includes a fascinating chapter on risk management in regular corporations. I think the book would serve equally well as a textbook for a risk management course or a handbook for the risk management practitioner.

Rating:
Summary: Important stuff but hard slogging
Review: This is an encyclopedia, and reading such things is not what most people, even when deeply interested in the subject are likely to do. It does provide a fair reference for specific topics, but this is not a subject one can really pick and choose.

VAR is the ususal starting point, and its famous authors (one of whom I hired for his skill in these matters) cover most of the bases in an interesting way.

Rating:
Summary: The best risk management book
Review: This is by far the most comprehensive and well-written book on risk management. If you were to read only on book on the subject, there is no doubt you should choose Crouhy, Galai, Mark. The book reflects not only the authors' serious academic background - all of them have been professors at top universities - but also their detailed hands-on experience.