Professionals who work in risk deal with technology, operations, audit, compliance and other control functions within a bank or financial organization. Risk management jobs are usually split into different areas, though the most common are market risk, credit risk and operational risk.

Market risk is the risk that a whole portfolio of traded financial products (for example, stocks, bonds or commodities) drops in value at the same time because of outside, sometimes unpredictable events, like rising oil prices or terrorist bombs. Four standard market risk factors used are stock prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodity prices.

Market risk professionals aim to price and model risk across a variety of asset classes, such as derivatives (forwards, futures, options, swaps). They should communicate clearly with traders and supply the front office with clear risk assessments.

Credit risk is the risk of loss of principal if a borrower fails to pay back a loan. A job in credit risk requires mitigating this risk by creating credit proposals and credit reviews, which show the business independent judgments about the financial backgrounds of potential and existing borrowers.

Credit risk positions require working with the lending team to check that credit proposals or extensions meet with approval or are declined in agreement with the firm's own credit policies and local regulations. Many lenders have their own credit scorecards and list prospective and current customers according to risk. A variety of factors are examined, including operating experience, management expertise, asset quality and leverage and liquidity ratios.

Operational risk is the risk that a bank will suffer damage or losses from internal factors or problems like a systems breakdown or financial wrongdoing. A job in operational risk involves devising front-to-back reviews of business processes which are then reported to business managers.

Positions in operational risk necessitate creating risk self assessments of business units, spreading information about the firm's risk policies and finding and reporting any change in risk. They also meet with internal audit, external audit and regulators.

Many risk professionals have qualifications developed to advance their understanding, job opportunities, professional reputation and salary. As an example, the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation from the Global Association of Risk Professionals is awarded to those who have at least two years' work experience in financial risk management and successfully pass two examinations.

The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRM) is awarded to financial risk managers who successfully pass four exams on subjects including financial theory, financial instruments and markets and mathematical foundations of risk measurement.