A lot of young bankers are not going for bankers qualifications and are instead sitting for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants examinations. This means that many do not have the basic skills that generally come along with Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) qualifications, such as what it means when cheques are crossed, what payee only on cheques indicates, etc.
Further, since the global credit crisis was caused by a lack of credit principles being applied, there is now a shift back towards more traditional standards and, as such, intermediate banking qualifications are again increasingly being seen as essential for young bankers today.
Dimantha Seneviratne |
These views were shared, with the Business Times, by Dimantha Seneviratne, the newly elected President of the Association of Professional Bankers (APB); a 22-year old local body that includes over 900 senior-level banking professionals who represent 22 banks operating locally, of which 11 are foreign banks, and encompasses, as per 2008, close to Rs. 2.8 trillion or 57% of all major financial institutions of the country.
Mr. Seneviratne, Chief Risk Officer for HSBC Sri Lanka and the Maldives and a 20-year banking veteran, also noted that foreign banks operating in Sri Lanka have an advantage over their counterparts as their staff are obliged to attend international conferences and so keep abreast of the latest trends in banking; a situation that APB intends to address somewhat with a number of local learning opportunities for all its members. These will include presentations on wealth management and credit card fraud, lectures by HSBC Senior Asian Economist Robert Prior- Wandesforde and the head of compliance of a foreign bank, and a joint seminar with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka on changes to accounting standards affecting banking.
Additionally, he indicated that APB's annual convention slated for the beginning of September will also go a long way in updating members about the key issue in the banking field. For example, and in keeping with the country's high literacy and growing numbers of CIMA qualified and IT professionals; Sri Lanka's capability of becoming a hub for IT related financial services for banks in other countries as well as being a backup or disaster recovery clearing system for smaller SAARC countries, etc.
Mr. Seneviratne also noted that APB was already working on setting up a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme for associates and diploma holders of IBSL which would entail APB providing certificates for those participating at APB organised seminars, lectures and conventions as part requirement to obtain a CPD. Additionally, he highlighted APB's role in promoting an industry-wide programme whereby fast tracked junior level promotions would be available based on banking qualifications as well as other APB efforts including those in research such as a proposed new research study on the impact and effectiveness of "Parate Execution". |
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