Established in 1928 as a Company under Section 26 of the Indian Companies Act, 1913, the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (IIBF), formerly known as The Indian Institute of Bankers (IIB), is a professional body of Banks, Financial Institutions, and their employees in India. The Vision and Mission statements of IIBF are:

The Institute is managed by a Governing Council consisting of representatives of major Banks, Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banks’ Association, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection and an academician from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

The day-to-day management of the Institute vests in the hands of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who in turn is supported by a Deputy CEO, Director – Operations, Director – Academics and Director – Training.

Banking & Finance being a knowledge-driven industry, the role of IIBF has undoubtedly been pioneering in keeping the bankers updated and upgraded. IIBF has been a professional body of Banks, Financial Institutions and their employees in India with 9,66,718 ordinary members as at FY 2020-21. An ISO 21001:2018 Certified company, IIBF is managed by a Governing Council consisting of representatives from RBI, SBI, IBA, major Public/Private Sector Banks, Cooperative Banks, Small Finance Banks and Academician/s from IIT, Bombay.

The range of activities of the Institute are:

1. Education/Certification

Confucius, the wise Chinese philosopher, once said, “Knowledge without practice is useless. Practice without knowledge is dangerous.”

Undoubtedly, for a knowledge-oriented industry like Banking and Finance, it is an absolute necessity for a Banker to acquire, consistently build upon and update his/her knowledge base to function effectively, as per the evolving expectations of the industry. IIBF plays the significant role of being the knowledge partner for the banking fraternity. Primarily recognised as the premier education and certification body with a penchant for absolute quality in terms of content coverage & delivery, the Institute currently conducts certifications for 3 flagship courses, 6 Diploma-level courses, 23 Certificate courses, 6 blended courses in specialised domains and an Advanced Management Programme in collaboration with IIM-Calcutta.

The flagship courses of the Institute, namely JAIIB & CAIIB, provides the practicing Bankers the fundamental knowledge base on Banking and still remains, till date, the most sought-after qualification in Banking in India. The Certificate courses provide the common denominator knowledge and also assists the practising Bankers to constantly broaden one’s boundary of knowledge through courses like Emerging Technologies and Strategic Management in Banking. Additionally, through its Continuing Professional Development Programmes, IIBF encourages the Bankers to demonstrate self-development by continuous learning, in an increasingly competitive professional domain. The capacity building courses on specialised areas like Treasury, Credit, Risk Management, Accounting etc. as mandated by Reserve Bank of India are delivered in a blended mode i.e. an on-line examination and mandatory classrooms sessions in-built, to ensure 360-degree learning. All of these courses are meticulously designed and delivered in line with changing contours of Banking and Financial services sector.

e-Learning is fast becoming the preferred mode of learning, especially for working professionals across the industry. The Institute has been proactive in assimilating e-Learning in its pedagogical repertoire. The e-Learning modules developed by the Institute have been accepted and recognised by the banking fraternity for the following reasons:

• Simple and interactive user interface
• Wide range of subject-coverage
• Enables to learn at one’s own pace
• Content driven to impart complete knowledge
• Exercises to test learning skills
• Customisable to suit Bank’s requirements

These e-Learning modules have been made available for individual members and non-members as well as institutional members like banks at a nominal cost, duly customised for on-boarding of new inductees if required.

Given the pandemic-led disruptions, the Institute has been conducting certain key examinations in the remote-proctored mode for greater reach & operational efficiency. The Institute also happens to be the sole certifying body for Business Correspondents (BCs) & Debt Recovery Agents (DRAs).

1. Training

Training sessions organised by IIBF provide a platform to the practising Bankers to share their knowledge & practical experiences with industry peers and also an opportunity to keep pace with the changes in the prevalent regulations in the entire Banking & Financial Services sector. IIBF has been conducting both Open and Customised Training Programmes on a regular basis, on a plethora of Banking subjects like Treasury, Credit, Risk Management, International Trade, Retail Banking, Compliance, Audit, Cyber Crime, etc., to name a few.

The programmes organised by the Institute have been appreciated and recognised for the quality of content and mode of delivery, by all the participating banks and financial institutions. The faculty members of the Institute being very accomplished Bankers themselves, the sessions have been practical and relatable to the participating audience and hence, have been held in high esteem for their inherent applied nature. Some of the lectures are uploaded in the Institute’s designated portal, so that the interested candidates may access whenever required.

IIBF, in addition to the regular training programmes, has also been conducting Leadership Development Programmes in coordination with XLRI, Jamshedpur and Strategic Training Programmes with JBIMS, Mumbai.

1. Research and Publications

“Research is creating new knowledge.” – Neil Armstrong

IIBF has been promoting active research in Banking & Finance domain with the objective of developing analytical minds with pertinent ideas, capable of positively contributing to the overall developmental process of the industry. the Institute offers the following research schemes to bankers/academicians to encourage them to undertake research in the banking & finance domains:

• Macro Research
• Micro Research
• Diamond Jubilee & CH Bhabha Banking Overseas Research Fellowship
• Scheme for Research in Banking Technology (Jointly with IDRBT)

The Institute encourages peer-review and offers scholarships and monetary supports to the deserving researchers. The research activities sponsored by IIBF have seen encouraging responses from top B Schools and IITs.

As for publications, IIBF regularly brings out two publications, namely the IIBF Vision and Bank Quest. Bank Quest, published quarterly, has been included in the Group B of UGC CARE list of Journals and it provides continuous professional knowledge to the bankers through publication of relevant articles by experienced professionals. IIBF vision, published monthly, documents the important changes in the Banking & Finance domain and is an effective platform for knowledge-sharing for the banking fraternity.

Besides the above, IIBF has been curating & publishing its own books for all of its Academic programmes. These books have been appreciated by the industry for their depth in coverage, while maintaining a rather lucid authoring interface. Needless to say, these books are authored by very experienced Bankers/Academicians to ensure quality and updated content.

1. Seminars/Memorial Lectures

IIBF also conducts Memorial Lectures/Seminars/Webinars on contemporary topics for the benefit of the banking fraternity.  The two prestigious Memorial Lectures being conducted by IIBF are the Shri R K Talwar Memorial Lecture and the Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas Memorial Lecture. Several well-known luminaries have delivered these Lectures over the years. As in 2021, Dr. Krishnamurthy.V. Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India has delivered the last edition of Shri R K Talwar Memorial Lecture and Shri Supratim Bandyopadhyay, Chairperson, PFRDA graced the podium for Sir PTML Lecture.

1. Consultancy

The Institute regularly extends its consultancy services to Institutes/Organisations located in foreign countries in the area of capacity building in Banking & Finance. Consultancy assignments were undertaken by IIBF for banks/training institutions located in Zambia, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Bhutan, Botswana, etc.

National Collaborations

IIBF, for certain courses, has entered into collaborations with well recognised organisations, keeping in mind the constant need to add academic and professional value to the participants. The key national collaborations are tabulated as below:

Global Footprints

1. a) Founder Member of GBEStB

At one of the World Congress of Banking Institutes held in Lagos, Nigeria, Banking Institutes representing around 25 countries, launched the Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBEStB). The GBEStB which is a voluntary, industry-led initiative, aims to develop clear, internationally agreed standards for the education of Professional Bankers. IIBF is one of the founder members of GBEStB.

1. b) Collaboration with Chartered Banker Institute, UK

The Institute has entered into a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the Chartered Banker Institute, U K, offering a pathway for the Junior Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (JAIIB) and Certified Associates of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) from India, to have their qualifications recognised by the Chartered Banker Institute and be able to become Chartered Bankers.

1. c) Collaboration with Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, London

IIBF has collaborated with Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, London for IIBF’s course on Certificate in Risk in Financial Services (CRFS). The candidates who have cleared the CRFS examination conducted by the Institute are eligible to apply for CISI’s Level II examination.

1. d) Collaboration with GARP

IIBF entered into a collaboration with GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals) to offer the FRR course, aimed at benefitting the risk professionals with respect to the current challenges faced and opportunities available for the bankers.

Professional Banker Programme

In order to meet the twin objectives of bridging the skill gaps and having a system of continuous professional development, a gold level aspirational qualification called “Professional Banker” has been introduced by the Institute.The “Professional Banker” programme has been designed carefully based on series of discussions with the top management of banks. The concept is based on the job family being adopted by various banks. This will open an opportunity to the bankers to attain specialisation in any of the tracks and will prove beneficial for the organisation too.The path to being a professional banker is diagrammatically indicated below:

Advanced Management Programme with IIM-Calcutta

IIBF conducts Advanced Management Programme (AMP), a management course for working Officers and Executives from the Banking / Financial Sector in collaboration with IIM-Calcutta. The programme covers the entire spectrum of Banking / Financial Management subjects and aims at upskilling the Future Leaders in the Banking and Finance domain. The candidates for the Programme are either sponsored by the participating Banks/Financial Institutions or are self-sponsored.

Concluding Remarks

Henry Ford, the visionary industrialist, once famously remarked,

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

In that same spirit of consistent growth through quality education, IIBF has always endeavoured to maintain a quality benchmark for all the Bankers of the nation to achieve, so that the entire sector may live up to the changing expectations of the times. IIBF has truly been the pioneer in banking education in India.

The Financial sector in India is in a constant state of flux, with ground-breaking new technologies ushering in a paradigm shift. Knowledge, as always, is widely acknowledged to be the proverbial silver-bullet. At this juncture, as the Institute closes in to a well-deserved ‘Century’ in the service of the banking fraternity, IIBF is already in the process of re-discovering itself as a new-age academic organization with redesigned academic programmes and cutting-edge pedagogical tools, in an endeavour to offer a wholesome learning experience to the Banking fraternity and to stay by the side of the Bankers as the ever-trusted learning partner, as they move forward in their professional career.