‘We’ve raised the bank examination’s passing rate from 6% to 22%’

The Indian Institute of Banking and Finance is probably the largest online training institute in the world for bankers, imparting banking and finance education for those employed as well as for those seeking employment in the sector. Originally known for conducting JAIIB (Junior Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers) and CAIIB (Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers) for those employed in the banking sector, the institute now offers a host of certificate and diploma courses too.

In an interview, R Bhaskaran, CEO, elaborated, on the transformation of the institute, which was established in 1928, to meet the demand for competent employees in the banking industry and on the need for training even subordinate staff so that they can become brand ambassadors for their banks. Excerpts from the interview:

During the last 10 years that you have been at the institute’s helm, how has it evolved?

Today our Institute is completely technology-oriented Institute. We conduct our exams online at roughly 250-260 centres across the country. For example, there is the first level JAIIB examination, which is taken by 1.2 lakh people online in a day from 660 odd participating banks/ institutions.

Technology helps us prepare 1.2 lakh unique question papers. The candidate goes through all the multiple choice questions online and ticks the appropriate boxes. Once he submits answers, the marksheet is in his hand instantaneously. So, the faith in the systems of the institute is high.

Between 2008 and 2013, 3.5 lakh new candidates have joined our institute. Everybody who joins the banking system becomes a member of the institute.

Besides JAIIB and CAIIB basic level exams, we conduct a Diploma in Banking and Finance, seven other diplomas, 16 certificate courses and four advanced certifications. All these courses are online. Our fee acceptance is online. Acceptance of membership is online.

Banking industry has about 1.2 million employees. Almost all of them are IIBF’s members. So, we need to have unique delivery system to administer exams.

Why did you branch out into diploma and certification programmes?

We cannot be a banking institute if we don’t understand the needs of the industry and offer them relevant certifications, among others, in banking and finance, treasury and risk management, wealth management, SME finance, trade finance, credit cards, cyber crimes and fraud management, business correspondent/ business facilitators, customer service and banking codes and standards, and debt recovery agent programme. So, we started building varieties of programmes as per the needs of the industry.

Now, if you are asking somebody to write an examination, the universities have a system. They will ask you to buy the relevant books. They recommend books. In banking you can’t recommend books because the topics can be as varied as credit cards, trade finance, micro finance etc., and you don’t have textbooks covering all these topics. So, we created our own books. Today, we have 51 books on banking, a subject which has become so vast (over the years).

Why did you launch the certified credit officer programme?

At a recent banking conclave, the RBI Governor had underscored the importance of better evaluation of loan proposals in-house. We recently launched the certified credit officer programme. For the last one-and-a-half years, we had been working on developing an advanced course for credit officers which will help bankers appraise loan proposals of more than ₹2 crore. We have three other such advanced programmes – banking compliance professional programme, certified bank trainer programme, and certified treasury dealer programme.

In these courses, candidates have to first pass the examinations, attend the classroom programmes and then only the certificate is given. Since everybody has passed the exam, the teacher in the classroom has to be proficient in the subject. Today we offer five levels of structured courses for beginners, experienced beginners, professionals, experts and management – certificate exam, CAIIB and JAIIB professional examination, diploma examinations, advanced certification and advanced management programmes.

Today, members can access recorded (e-learning) lectures on our Website; we have mock tests on the Website. We make candidates more professionally competent to pass the exam. So, from six per cent, our pass per cent is now 22 per cent in case of JAIIB and CAIIB.

Are you launching any new courses?

We are planning to come up with a special certification programme for bank sub-staff. This is to teach them banking, try to make better use of their services and make them better ambassadors for their bank. They are in the branch and can help direct customers to the relevant counters. This programme will be conducted in 16 languages. Today, other than being a peon, they don’t do anything. They are the only permanent employees in the branch. If they start interacting with the customers and answer their queries, (attend to their) needs – what is KYC, what is PIN – their roles can be enhanced. Actually, they can very effectively perform this role and become a kind of a brand ambassador for the bank. Maybe, some of them can get promoted also. There are roughly 1.8 lakh sub-staff in the banking system. They can’t read in English. So the exam will be administered in multiple languages.

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