Today
there is no set of standards certificates which a Banker has to obtain to
discharge his/her official duties.
Depending
on the job profile, the preferred educational qualifications are highlighted. However,
the Super Regulator i.e Reserve Bank of India or any accreditation agency does
not lay down mandatory qualifications.
Come
April 1st, 2018 and all this going to change. Reserve Bank of India
vide its Notification No DBR.No.BP.BC.4/21.03.009/2016-17 dated August 11, 2016
changes the present approach to capacity building in Commercial Banks and All
India Financial Institutions.
The
indicative list of Commercial Banks can be read here
Exim
Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI are defined as All India Financial Institutions for
the purpose of this RBI notification.
Background: The mandatory certifications requirements are
the outcome of the ‘Report of the Committee on Capacity Building in Banks and
non-Banks’, released by Reserve Bank of India in September 2014.
Suggestions
were invited by Reserve Bank of India to opertionalise the recommendations of
the Committee.
The
first set of directions encompassing the recommendations of the committee was
given under RBI Notification No DBR.No.BP.BC.4/21.03.009/2016-17 dated August
11, 2016.
The
highlight of the Notification is the obtention of appropriate Certificates by personnel
manning critical departments of the banks. Of course, each employee in the Bank
has an important role to achieve customer satisfaction.
As
a beginning, banks should make acquiring of a certificate course mandatory for
the following areas:
Treasury operations – Dealers, mid-office operations.
Risk management – credit
risk, market risk, operational risk,
enterprise-wide risk, information security, liquidity risk.
Accounting – Preparation of financial results, audit
function.
Credit management – credit
appraisal, rating, monitoring, credit administration.
This does
not mean that employees working in other banks need not obtain mandatory certificates.
Banks are free to require certification for other areas of work also.
The
employees working in the aforementioned areas should be asked to acquire
certifications within a specified period, say, 6 months. This period can be
extended depending on the time required for the certification. Banks should
have a specific policy in place for this purpose.
To
address the issues of mis-selling and to minimise customer complaints, the
employees involved in marketing third party retail products and wealth
management products must necessarily undergo an appropriate certification process.
Where other financial sector regulators have prescribed any certifications,
these must be complied with.
As
the number of employees in Commercial Banks and All India Financial
Institutions is quite large, an independent accreditation agency would be useful
to all the stake holders.
In this regard, the issue of setting up of an
accreditation agency for assuring and accrediting learning initiatives within
the banking industry, etc., is being examined separately.
As a
stop-gap arrangement, Indian Banks Association (IBA) has been requested to
identify in consultation with RBI and provide to its members, by end December
2016, a list of institutions and courses that will meet the certification
requirements for different work areas mentioned above.
As IBA
has to release the list of institutions and course by December 210, IBA may,
form an expert group comprising such agencies, institutions at it deems
necessary
After the
release of the aforesaid list by the IBA, the banks should identify the courses/certifications
that are suitable for their operations and put in place a Board approved
policy, mandating obtainment of such certifications by its employees working in
the respective areas.
The banks
should ensure that by end-March 2017, the employees in relevant areas have
commenced the process of obtaining necessary certifications.
It is
expected that, w.e.f. April 1, 2018, staff will have first obtained the
requisite certification before being posted in the above mentioned functional
areas.
If an
employee has already acquired relevant graduate, diploma and certificate
courses offered by reputed universities, the same can also be considered as an
accreditation/ certification. More clarity on this is expected once IBA
releases its list.
The
employees of Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks too will benefit from this
notification. It is expected that this notification will be applicable to Small
Finance Banks and Payment Banks too.
It is
expected that this notification will be applicable to Regional Rural Banks too.
Recertification
every three years through CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
certification would enable the bankers to stay update in their chosen specialization.
