Specialized Professional Diploma Programs
The Management of the Institute of Banking Studies continued this year holding the Specialized Professional Diploma Programs series which suit the qualifications and work nature of the cadres working in the financial and banking sector. The Institute carried out during the first quarter of this year two Specialized Professional Diploma Programs in Bank Credit both in Amman and Irbid attended by (23) participants in Amman and (18) participants in Irbid . Also, two Specialized Professional Diploma Programs were carried out in both Amman and Aqaba in Financial Analysis attended by (23) participants in Amman and (18) participants in Aqaba, in addition to a Specialized Professional Diploma Program in Investment Portfolios Management in Amman attended by (21) participants .
These programs were implemented in response to the needs of the banking and financial cadres in Jordan in order to create trained human cadres able to grasp and use the necessary technical skills and their applications as well as to cope with the banking and financial developments on the international arena .
In view of the distinguished success of these programs since they were first launched , and after the Institute's management has made a comprehensive survey of the developing needs of the banking and financial sector in Jordan , and since the Institute's eagerness to accommodate the training needs of these cadres , it became obvious that there is a pressing need for Specialized Professional Diploma Programs dealing with Bank Marketing , Islamic Banks , Controlling and Auditing .
Accordingly , the management of the Institute of Banking Studies decided to prepare to launch new programs in these subjects during the coming era, beside continuing to hold the already existing programs.
Specialized Banking Seminars Held at the Institute
During the First Quarter 2007
The Institute of Banking Studies held during the first quarter of this year two specialized banking seminars as follows :
1- Advanced Anti-Money Laundering
This seminar took place during the period 4/3-8/3/0007 in cooperation with Bond Associates Ltd. / UK. (27) trainees from different local banks and financial institutions attended the seminar that discussed the legal framework of anti-money laundering legislations as well as the new developments of these legislations in Jordan, Europe and USA. Also, the seminar discussed the stages of money laundering , advanced monitoring techniques, reporting, auditing and the international attempts to combat money laundering as well as assuring the correctness of information sources and know your customer business (KYCB), and all this through an in-depth study of advanced practical cases in this field.
2-Developments in Personal (Retail) & Private Banking
This Seminar was held in cooperation with Batt and Partners Consulting Ltd. / UK during the period 25/3-29/3/2007 and was attended by (12) trainees from different banks and financial institutions .
The seminar discussed the latest developments in the personal ÒretailÓ and private banking products , the skills of designing the needed strategies to manage and market these products effectively in order to maximize their profits. The managerial and technical sides of these subjects where discussed thoroughly through applied cases and examples .
Comprehensive Training Program for Beginners
During the first quarter of this year, the Institute carried out the Comprehensive Training Program for Beginners twice at its premises attended by (44) trainees as follows :
- (22) trainees during the period 11/2-8/3/2007 .
- (22) trainees during the period 11/3-5/4/2007 .
This program aimed at widening the traineesÕ knowledge in different aspects of banking operations, in order to facilitate assimilation in their institutions and to develop their mental abilities and productivity. The program has been designed using the latest scientific approaches that conforms to the nature of the financial and banking activities.
The program consisted of two parts: the first includes the internal banking operations and aims at increasing the participants' knowledge in the mechanism of performing the internal banking operations and provides them with skills and experiences related to the nature of their work in this field. This part include bank accounts (such as deposits, savings, fixed accounts, certificates of deposits) , direct and indirect credit facilities, bank guarantees, bank risks inquiry and bank accounting. The second part of the program includes the external banking operations and aims at raising the participants efficiency through providing them with the different technical aspects of the external banking operations. This part include subjects such as documentary credits, bills for collection, external transfers, correspondent banks and the basics of dealing and opening accounts with them.
The Comprehensive Exam of the
Institute's MBA Program
In harmony with the academic affiliation agreement concluded between the Institute of Banking Studies and University of Jordan in respect of implementing the MBA Program in Banking and Finance in accordance with the regulations of granting the Masters degree at the University of Jordan, and after the Institute's board has approved the recommendation of the comprehensive exam committee, which was held on 30/11/2006 for one of the program students, the decision of the Deans Council of the University of Jordan No. (38/2007) dated 5/2/2007 was taken to grant the student the MBA degree in Banking and Finance thereby increasing the number of graduates to (37) graduates from various institutions of the financial and banking sector till the end of the first quarter 2007.
However, a special committee headed by the Dean of the Institute and the membership of four of the teaching faculty was also formed in accordance with the regulations of granting the Masters degree at the University of Jordan in order to organize the comprehensive exam, which was held on 22/3/2007. This committee issued on 25/3/2007 its decision on the exam results, which will be submitted to the InstituteÕs board, and then to the University's Deans Council for the approvals.
Special Courses for HSBC Bank Middle East
The Institute of Banking Studies has carried out two special training courses for HSBC Bank Middle East employees on Detecting Bank Counterfeit and Forgery during the first quarter of this year. These courses were attended by (43) employees as follows:
- (20) employees during the period 18/2-22/2/2007 .
- (23) employees during the period 11/3-15/3/2007 .
These courses were held within the framework of the existing cooperation between the Institute of Banking Studies and HSBC Bank Middle East in order to improve the qualifications of the bank employees and to equip them with the proper experience to deal with counterfeit and forgery operations. The Institute, however, agrees to hold more special training courses on different banking subjects for some of this banks employees during this year in continuation of the Institute's efforts to raise and upgrade the Jordanian banking and financial sector cadres' standards in the different related fields.
The Dean of the Institute Participates in the Bank
Security and Deposit Insurance Forum
The Dean of the Institute took part in the banking forum that was organized by the Union of Arab Banks in cooperation with the Central Bank of Jordan and the Deposit Insurance Corporation / Jordan and the participation of the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development), on ÒBank Security and Deposit Insurance during 18/2-19/2/2007 under the patronage of H.E Dr. Umayya Toukan / Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan and a vast regional participation from several central banks and many financial and monetary organizations and deposits insurance commissions in a number of Arab countries besides Jordan.
The objective of the forum was to clarify the methods of activating the role of the different parties concerned with bank security, especially that in practice, and in many countries the responsible parties for bank security do not go in the same direction at the same time in order to bear the responsibility of bank security which requires coordinated and integrated action of all concerned parties whether directly such as the supervisory and controlling authorities and deposit insurance commissions, or indirectly such as ministries and concerned governmental authorities that can affect market factors through their decisions.
The forum also included a demonstration of practical cases for reforming and privatizing one of the banks, and the role of supervisory and controlling authorities for guaranteeing bank security, as well as a discussion on the Basel approach to reform weak banks and study of the best methods to apply the corporate governance.
The Institute's Management Meetings
The Dean of the Institute met on 18/3/2007 at the Institute's premises Dr. Said Al-Zahrani, CEO of Global Institute / Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The meeting focused on possibilities of opening new venues of cooperation between the two institutes to benefit from the different training activities carried out by the Institute of Banking Studies in all financial, banking and administrative fields and other fields as well. This will be accomplished through sending specialized lecturers to carry out training courses and seminars in various fields at the Global Institute's premises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or through receiving Saudi financial cadres via Global Institute at the Institute of Banking Studies premises to participate in existing training courses or in courses to be held especially for them on specific subjects. At the end of the visit, the guest was escorted to make a tour in the Institute to see its technical facilities and training halls. Dr. Zahrani commended the high standard, good reputation, and long experience of the Institute in training local and regional financial and banking cadres. The two parties agreed to explore new venues of cooperation between them in order to serve the local financial cadres in both countries in particular and the Arab world cadres in general.