PUNE: Emphasising on the need, urgency and relevance of the courses, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr Viral Acharya launched online certification courses in Credit Management, Treasury Management, Risk Management and Accounting and Audit at the National Institute of Banking Management (NIBM) recently.

These courses have been launched pursuant to the directions issued by RBI in July 2014 for capacity building in banks and financial institution, to arrive at a roadmap for implementing some of the non-legislative recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC). “NIBM has been identified by Indian Banks Association (IBA) to deliver these online certification courses. These courses are basically to impart knowledge, skill and aptitude, to enhance competencies of bank officers and managers in performing their jobs effectively,” said KL Dhingra, Director of NIBM.

Speaking at the event, Acharya said, “The course must impart macro perspective of the subject, as well as the vocational skills for micro-level functions in banks. There is a need for skills to manage counter cyclical events of risk management and the downturn of the economy, and courses on cybersecurity for bank executives. As regarding Accounting and Audit course, there is an urgent need for appropriate internal processes to ensure separation of decision-making activities.”

VG Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, IBA, said that the need for online courses was felt a long time ago. “At the behest of RBI, IBA identified these courses and advised NIBM, with its long history and experience of 48 years of existence, to deliver these courses to the expectations of the banking industry. The other four areas in which online courses must be recommended are Compliance, Pricing of Products, Wealth Management and Investment Management and Securitisation,” he said.

SPECIALISED COURSES REQUIRED
Acharya said that at the initial stage of the career of a banker, the job rotation in terms of bankers taking responsibilities in different verticals is fine, but today, cutting-edge specialisation is the need of the day and therefore, specialised courses such as these offered online by NIBM are beneficial to the bankers.