With nearly 150 years of experience in educating bankers and with a network in excess of 30,000 professional bankers around the globe, our Institute is proud to be regarded as the voice of responsible and sustainable professionalism in banking.
We have four key thematic strands, which are used to develop the Institute’s thought leadership and these four themes all fall under the umbrella of our key theme, which is Responsible Banker.
When we talk about responsible banking and sustainable finance, however, there is a much wider aspect to this beyond tackling climate change, which in our view is equally as important. And that is ensuring that banking and finance support customers, communities and society through responsible, inclusive, patient and socially purposeful finance. Responsible lending, financial inclusion, serving all customers to the best of our abilities and always putting their needs first. And supporting through our financial activities and decisions a socially just transition – these are all aspects of a responsible, sustainable approach to banking consistent with the UN Principles for Responsible Banking.
The Principles provide a framework for positive change in banking and finance. But change is led, ultimately, by confident, well informed and professional individuals leading their organisations. The change we seek in mainstreaming responsible, sustainable finance in general, and the Principles for Responsible Banking in particular, needs to be led by increasing numbers of committed banking finance professionals.
- Professionals with an understanding of the critical role of financial services in supporting the transition to a low-carbon world are needed – as set out in the Paris Agreement.
- Professionals who understand how socially purposeful, customer-focused banking creates value for society, as well as for shareholders.
- Professionals with the knowledge and skills to be able to develop and deploy strategies, products, services and tools in their institutions that will embed the Principles for Responsible Banking.
- Developing the knowledge and skills of such individuals to support responsible, sustainable banking is what we do at the Chartered Banker Institute.
To view a short video from our CEO about Responsible Banker then please see here:
To learn more about each of our other 4 themes then please click on the headings below:
- Sustainable Banker – More than ever we seek to play a leading role in developing bankers’ knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviours in relation to green and sustainable banking. We believe this will be, and should be, a priority for policymakers, regulators and banks themselves in the next decade. As a growing concern to consumers, it is a priority for the Institute too and fits with our purpose, heritage and values.
Please see here to view more content about Sustainable Banker
- Digital Banker - The digital era we are now in is both a hugely exciting and challenging one. Advances in technology are rapidly changing the banking environment and customers’ expectations. At the Institute, we keep abreast of all the latest developments in banking and digital and data-driven innovation, and incorporate it into our qualifications and Continuing professional development (CPD) content. Despite everything we hear and read - about artificial intelligence, bitcoin, blockchain, fintech, digital banking, electronic trading and robo-advising; the heart of banking remains the essential human capital that our sector depends on even more than financial or technological capital.
Please see here to view more content about Digital Banker
- Future Banker - When we think about the “Future Bankers” we not only reflect on the changing nature of the profession in the digital era, but also reflect on the skills, expertise and professional judgement that will be required by bankers of the future. We believe that highly qualified, knowledgeable, skilled, dedicated, customer-focused banking professionals will shape the future of banking, as much as the new technologies that are transforming the financial services industry, will. This will, inevitably, have an impact on the future knowledge and skills required by Chartered Bankers. Some parts of banking may become partly or fully de-skilled or be fully automated. But other aspects will require highly qualified banking professionals, skilled in credit, risk, banking operations, regulation, technology, sustainable finance and, of course, able to apply professional and ethical judgement shaped by their expertise, experience, and commitment to the professional values set out in the Chartered Banker Code of Professional Conduct. In fact, in an era when bankers are ever more disintermediated from customers, and when both customers and money are data points rather than individuals or tangible coins and notes, it can be argued that a professional ethos has an even more important role to play.
Please see here to view more content about Future Banker.
- Ethical Banker - Responsibility lies at the heart of ethics. To be responsible, we must be aware of the situation we find ourselves in, understand it fully, and have enough control to allow us to shape outcomes. Ethics and responsibility are compatible with banking; indeed, they define how the service should be delivered. Ethical bankers are core to banking and how it operates. The Institute is one of only a few bodies to bring together ethics and digital banking – we can inform and frame the debate.
Please see here to view more content about Ethical Banker.