The Banking Institute of Liberia (BIL) and some international financial institutions have formed a partnership for the growth and development of the sector.
Those partners are the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria (CIBN), and the Alliance of African Institutes of Bankers in Abuja, Nigeria.
It will engender the administration of Professional Banking Certification Examination for the first time in Liberia. CIBN Certificate ascribe to holders sub-regional, continental and international recognition.
BIL’s Director General, Richard Saywah Panton, made the disclosure during the formal graduation exercises of level 2 first training cycle of 2020 of the Institute held Friday, 27 November in Monrovia.
He said their attempt is to institutionalize banking education in Liberia and enhance networking and collaboration internationally.
In 2019, the first batch of 4 candidates from the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) wrote the exam for Professional Banking Diploma Level I.
Panton paid tribute to LBDI for being the first Liberian participant to brave the storm and to have attempted the International Certification Examination.
He indicated that CIBN examinations are administered in April and October every year. “In this connection, the Banking Institute of Liberia conducts tutorial for the examination and in country tutorial will commence same in January 2021.”
Panton told the 65 participants who got certificated in various segments of the refresher programme that the financial sector is grossly challenged and Liberia is no exception.
Therefore, admonished the graduates to use the skills acquired in mitigating the anomalies and thereby bringing sanity in the sector to regain the confidence and trust of clients, investors and the public.
Candidates were awarded short term certificate related to competency based courses in Systems and Controls, Banking Operations, Regulatory Framework and Compliance, Credit Analysis, Internal Audit and financial Reporting and Analysis.
Of the 65 participants, 20 were females constituting 31 percent while 45 were males constituting 69 percent. Eleven (11) banking institutions namely Access Bank 12, Afriland Bank 1, Central Bank of Liberia 11, Ecobank 1, Global Bank 2, Guaranty Trust Bank 11, International Bank 7, Liberian Bank for Development and Investment 10, SIBL 5, and United Bank for Africa 5 nominated participants.
This brings to the total of 277 participants nominated from Central Bank of Liberia and Liberia Bank Association’s member institutions and that of Diaconia.
Therefore, he continued: “We admonished you to use the skills acquired in mitigating the anomalies and thereby bringing sanity in the sector to regain the confidence and trust of clients, investors and the general public.”
Panton urged them to make the most and build on what they have learnt and shared. “Be proud ambassadors of BIL; our worth is judged by your performances at your various work places.”
However, in an effort to make BIL the premier institution in the banking and financial sector of the country, it is rolling out its Enterprises Programme in 2021. It should have begun in March of this year but it was stalled because of COVID19.
Emphasizing the importance of the programme, Director Panton said it has Professional Certificate with courses admissible to first degree holders.
He said these examinations based leading to the award of Certificate of Achievement, and the Professional Development which required West African Senior School’s Certificate are mostly syndicate practical exercises for the award of Certificate of Completion.
“These are medium term bank and management related professional courses designed to respond primarily to staffers of the sector wishing to professionalize themselves and also address the knowledge requirement needs of people desiring entry into the sector,” the BIL boss noted.
Meanwhile, Director Panton is calling on the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and heads of commercial banks, to make training at the Institute a compulsory requirement for employment and upward mobility in the sector.
He said this will elevate the Institute as well as increase its visibility in the industry, add, “This best practice is imminent and carried out on the African content.”
BIL’s boss names few cases in point with the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria, Kenya Institute of Banking and Financial Services, Banker College of Ghana, Egyptian Banking Institute among others.
The Institute mandate is to build and enhance the capacity of entry, junior, senior and executive level staff in the banking and financial sector; organize professional and academic certification courses in banking and finance and related fields; provide research and consulting services by performing studies of systems and procedures for the banking and financial sector; and collaborate with universities and other financial institutions of higher learning in Liberia and abroad to achieve its mandate
It is cooperate training institute specialized in banking, financial management and non-financial related disciplines in Liberia.
Established in March 2014 by the Liberia Bankers Association (LBA) and the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to provide capacity building and cutting edge training support to stakeholders in the banking and other cooperate and financial sectors.
But it was not until April 2018, that the Institute became formally operational following the appointment of its first Director-General, Richard Saywah Panton, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Ibrahim Banamasi Banbagida School of International Studies, University of Liberia.