Although BanRisk evolved as a one week seminar, it is now used primarily in distant learning formats because this approach offers enormous cost benefits without sacrificing learning objectives. The simulation evaluates the teams' decisions in the context of real-world competitive and economic conditions and regulatory constraints. Each computer report is a new financial statement of condition that also includes extensive financial data on the competitor banks. The challenge in BanRisk is to continually improve the earnings of the bank compared to the competition without increasing risks. These issues are measured by a complex stock pricing feature in the computer model.
Teams compete for the best stock price at the end of the program.
By actually managing a bank, participants learn how all the major functions of a bank interact under various competitive and economic conditions. A team can be in any location as they only need to e-mail a single two page decision form. Throughout the course, participants may e-mail HRW instructors to ask questions. All participants receive certificates of completion. Mainly, participants need to be able to meet the time and study requirements of the course.