Zoologic Broadens Financial e-Learning Offerings With New Courses, Credit Risk Curriculum

Zoologic, Inc., the leading provider of online learning for financial professionals, today announced the addition of four new courses, including a new credit risk curriculum, designed to expand and deepen the company’s educational offering for financial practitioners at all experience levels. The courses build on Zoologic’s proven teaching methodology, using the interactivity, animation, and expert-prepared content that has made Zoologic a premier financial learning resource for banks, corporations, governments, and institutions around the world.

The four new courses include:

• Introduction to Credit Risk, marking the debut of Credit Risk as a major financial topic area; – Introduction to Derivatives, a primary course designed for entry-level financial analysts or anyone interested in the role that derivative contracts play in today’s marketplace;

• Valuing Swaps, a masters-level examination of the mechanics and pricing of interest rate, currency, and assets swaps for highly experienced brokers and investment managers;

• Fundamentals of Economic Indicators, the latest addition to Zoologic’s Finance Basics topic area that explains the role of major economic reports in shaping government and Federal Reserve policy.

“Our new courses are the direct result of continuing dialogue with our clients regarding their most critical competitive learning needs,” said David J. Samuels, CEO of Zoologic, Inc. “We take very seriously our role in keeping practitioners trained in the latest financial trends and strategies. These four new subjects are cutting-edge courseware that communicate important financial concepts quickly and thoroughly.”

New `Credit Risk’ Topic Area Created

Introduction to Credit Risk marks the beginning of an entirely new topic area designed to acquaint learners with strategies for measuring and managing risk in the fast-growing field of credit instruments. The three-hour introductory course provides a framework for analyzing credit risks and introducing ways to structure credit products to reduce risk. It also provides an understanding of the risk/return relationship, and how credit risks differ from risks in the equity market.

Graduates of the course will be able to define credit risk ratings and their effect on credit spreads; calculate the expected loss of a credit instrument; recognize the different types of risks found within credit risk; understand the considerations taken into account in credit analysis; and understand the effects of credit structure.

Additions to Derivatives, Financial Basics

Introduction to Derivatives outlines the concepts behind derivatives–investments that derive their value from another, more fundamental investment, such as a commitment to buy a bond for a certain sum on a certain date. Forwards, futures, options, and swaps are all part of the derivative market; this seven-hour course helps to define such important instruments, and to explain how derivative contracts can be used for speculative, hedging, and arbitrage purposes.

Valuing Swaps describes the mechanics of interest rate, currency, and assets swaps, and details how a swap dealer prices the swap contract to achieve his or her objectives. Participants in the nine-hour advanced course learn how to price swaps, estimate the anticipated profit on a swap transaction, and calculate the fixed rate or basis point spread needed to meet the terms of a swap contract, among other skills.

The Fundamentals of Economic Indicators, a four-hour course in the Finance Basics topic area, profiles the broad variety of U.S. economic indicators used by the federal government and others to measure and predict past, present, and future macroeconomic activity. It helps learners understand the relationship between indicators and the Federal Reserve Bank, and explains how the Fed curbs recessionary and inflationary pressures, as signaled by specific indicators.

Graphic and Intuitive Course Design

Zoologic courses empower learners to take control of their learning experience. Users pace and direct the educational process via an exciting, graphics-driven combination of animation and interactivity. They can jump to related topics, input values, alter graphs, and watch displays change in order to gain a mastery of complex investment and banking concepts. A glossary of over 1,000 financial topics provide reference and background, while flexible exercises and tests reinforce ideas and ensure that knowledge transfer is taking place.

About Zoologic:

Zoologic is the leading developer of financial e-learning worldwide. Developed by professionals, for professionals, the firm’s client base includes more than 350 investment firms, banks, corporations, governmental agencies and universities in over 45 countries. Zoologic offers an exclusive pedagogical approach that employs animation and interactivity to demystify complex financial topics without oversimplifying them. The company’s courseware is designed for seasoned professionals and newcomers alike, covering a rapidly expanding number of topic areas, and is delivered over the Internet or through company intranets. Zoologic, a privately owned company, was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in New York City. For more information about Zoologic and its growing library of courses for financial professionals, visit www.zoologic.com.