During the past few months, the Working Party on Banking has been hard at work in three key areas.
The first has been in the review of the IFoA syllabus and core reading in the early subjects. Supported by an international team of volunteers, it has been working with the module leads to include banking examples. The aim has been to show individuals on the qualification route how the actuarial skillset has relevance to banking. It will provide an early opportunity to introduce banking as a potential career option for a newly qualified actuary. The second workstream has been in the development of a banking specialism. The IFoA is in early-stage discussions with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) to develop a qualification in banking that is suitable for its membership. ASSA has been offering its members a banking option at the Specialist Application level since 2015, supporting the needs of the South African banking community, and is in the process of internationalising this programme. The IFoA has expressed interest in co-operating with ASSA, although the exact arrangements are still being worked out. A number of volunteers from the Banking Member Interest Group are supporting ASSA’s work. The intention is to develop a relevant syllabus that is appropriate for our membership, which the IFoA will then consider for potential inclusion in its Stage Two (post-Associate) Curriculum. Once formally agreed, colleagues at ASSA and the IFoA will work to introduce SP and SA level options in banking into our curriculum, which we hope to offer in the 2022 examination session. This will complement other specialist pathways and be aimed at candidates interested in an actuarial career within the banking sector.
The third piece of work has been focused on developing a Lifelong Learning banking webpage. The page brings together resources and information for student and qualified members who are interested in banking as a career option. In particular it showcases a number of qualified actuaries who have followed, and continue to follow, a career in banking.
The webpage supports a Lifelong Learning agenda aimed at providing information and signposting useful external resources. We launched this in December 2020 and it can be found at bit.ly/35xDEyC
