FIRM e.V.
FIRM is the Frankfurt Institute for Risk Management and Regulation. The institute supports research and education and brings financial institutions, academics, supervisory authorities and consultants into professional exchange. The association behind FIRM is Gesellschaft für Risikomanagement und Regulierung e.V.
FIRM addresses financial and nonfinancial risks, from bank risk models and compliance to cyber resilience and artificial intelligence. Research funding, university cooperation and specialist round tables connect these subjects with the work of finance professionals. Frankfurt's universities and financial institutions provide a local setting for a network that also works with researchers beyond the region.
The association behind FIRM
The Gesellschaft für Risikomanagement und Regulierung e.V. is the registered association that carries the institute. FIRM is the name used for its research, education and professional network. The association gives participating institutions and individuals an organizational basis for supporting that work.
Within the network, university researchers contribute academic methods, while professionals bring questions from risk management and regulation. This exchange connects financial practice with independent research and teaching.
Research funding in risk management and regulation
FIRM supports university research through calls for research proposals (in German). Subjects include geopolitical risk, public debt and financial stability, nonbank finance, digital currencies and stablecoins. Financial crime, sanctions, ESG and governance are also within the funding scope.
These subjects connect the risks of individual institutions with developments across the financial system. A project might examine the behavior of investors, a bank's exposure to economic shocks or the information needed to assess a market. Funding allows researchers to investigate such questions with a defined methodology and a broader set of evidence.
Risk culture and digital-asset research
FIRM's research projects (in German) include work on risk culture and the resilience of financial institutions. Researchers use text analysis and machine learning to investigate what company disclosures reveal about risk culture. The research examines how those indicators relate to resilience.
Another funded project studies the integrity of digital-asset markets, including the characteristics of trading venues and methods of assessment. These questions concern market participants as well as researchers. The work connects empirical finance with the design and operation of newer financial markets.
Banking risk and compliance round tables
The Banking Risk Round Table provides a specialist forum for bank risk managers. Subjects include credit, market and operational risk, regulatory developments and climate risk. The Compliance Risk Round Table brings together professionals working on compliance and nonfinancial risk.
Further FIRM round tables address cyber risk, ESG, payments and AI. The payments group works on operational resilience and the digital euro; the AI group discusses applications in finance, including generative models. The different groups make room for technical discussions within each profession and for questions that affect more than one risk function.
FIRM yearbook and position papers
The FIRM yearbook (in German) brings together expert contributions on risk management. Articles cover bank governance, compliance, AI, information security, payments and liquidity. Research contributions and practical work appear alongside each other.
FIRM also publishes position papers, including work on agentic AI in risk and compliance and on geopolitical risks for banks. Readers interested in AI governance can continue with model risk management; the operational questions also connect with cybersecurity in finance.
University cooperation and finance education
FIRM works with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and the House of Finance at Goethe University. FIRM Risk Management Scholarships support eligible students choosing a risk-focused concentration at Frankfurt School. The scholarship arrangement connects the institute's education mission with university study.
At Goethe Business School, FIRM-Kaminabende bring practitioners into the Master in Finance program for discussions with students and external experts. FIRM experts also contribute to Hot Topics in Practical Risk Management, a course available within the Risk Management & Regulation certificate. These formats add professional experience to the academic treatment of banking and financial risk.
Membership and professional exchange
The association offers membership for institutions and individuals who support its research and education objectives. Participation connects members with professionals from financial institutions, consultancies, supervision and academia. Members can support the work through research, teaching and professional exchange.
An alumni membership is available to students and graduates of the FIRM-supported finance programs at Frankfurt School and Goethe Business School. This gives people entering the profession a connection to a specialist network beyond their degree. The association's membership arrangements distinguish institutional support, personal participation and the alumni route.
FIRM and Frankfurt Main Finance
FIRM and Frankfurt Main Finance cooperate in the Frankfurt financial center. FIRM concentrates on risk management research and education, while Frankfurt Main Finance works on the financial center's development and connections. Representatives of the two organizations participate in each other's governing bodies.
The cooperation also brings research into wider professional discussion. Frankfurt Main Finance has shared selected FIRM yearbook contributions (in German) through a LinkedIn series. Research, education and communication contribute in different ways to the financial center's professional community.
Risk, research and the Frankfurt financial center
FIRM and Finance Loop
Risk management is part of the discussion about emerging technology in finance. AI models, digital assets and payment systems bring technical choices into questions of governance and operational resilience. Finance Loop brings professionals working on these subjects together through events and professional exchange.
Finance Loop is a professional network for emerging tech in finance. Professionals can join through membership, and organizations can discuss cooperation through contact.