It is with great pleasure that I provide my report covering the past year.
This is the 110th year of the Institute which was established in 1904.
If there is one thing we can learn from the past and an organisation with a long history it is this:
“If we gaze too frequently into the past and what was achieved, we may turn around and find the future has run out on us”.
I believe that as a Board we have striven to avoid this and have focussed on becoming relevant for now and for the future, after all we want to retain the best of the past but create a reason for continuing into the future.
At the AGM 15 August 2013 the members mandated the Directors to:
• Operate against the business plan and strategy for the IOB approved by the members at the AGM l
• Amend the MOI in accordance with the Companies Act (71 of 2008)
• Increase the IOB membership and ensure that it is recorded and managed appropriately
• Increase the financial viability of the organisation
• Register additional designations
• Call an Annual General Meeting
I am pleased to report against these various items;
• The AGM has been called
• The audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2013 have been produced and accepted by the Board. They indicate a profit for the year
• The MOI has been amended to incorporate the Constitution of the Institute and consequently going forward there will only be the one document. The amendments are in line with the requirements of the Companies Act and the document has been lodged with CIPC. Once the approval is obtained it will be available on the website.
Let me again draw your attention to the Vision and Mission
The Vision:
To lead the development of professional bankers with global relevance
Mission
To be the gateway to Professional Excellence through:
• Providing a professional and ethical development platform for our members and the sector
• Enhancing sector skills through life long learning initiatives
• Creation of the professional banker designations, endorsed by banks and affording status in the sector and beyond
• To Recognise the diversity of careers through the creation of multiple routes to Professional Banker status and eventually Chartered Banker status
• Partnering with international bodies to create value locally
“The achievements of the Institute through the various actions and the planning it has undertaken throughout this year is a transformation rather than a reorganisation.
For me Reorganization is shuffling boxes, moving boxes around. Transformation means that you’re really fundamentally changing the way the organization thinks, the way it responds, the way it leads. It’s a lot more than just playing with boxes.”
Operational Focus during 2013/2014
The Board and the Managing Executive have focussed on working in line with The IOB Value Proposition which has three pillars:
PROFESSIONALISE
CONNECT
INFORM
PROFESSIONALISE
Under this pillar I will touch on
• Designations
• The Academic Committee’s work
• CPD
• Opportunity in Risk Management
• Critical Skills Visa support
• Operational
SAQA designations
Dr Michele Serffontein, an education specialist, was contracted to assist with the SAQA registration initially as a professional body in 2012. She then developed all the requirements for the lodging and final approval of the 5 designations. This work was completed in September 2013 with the final three designations being approved and registered by SAQA in November 2013.
Academic Committee
This is currently the major committee. It comprises Board Directors as well as volunteers from formal education institutions and training companies. It has as a mandate the consider applications and award professional designations to the successful applicants. Since the beginning of the year when all the designations were available they have considered and awarded well over 150 designations at various levels. A policy for the award process was designed to ensure consistency of award and also to meet SAQA audit requirements. The other major focus has been the development of a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) policy.
Continuous Professional Development Program.
This policy has been presented to the FSB and has their support. We are currently in the process of meeting with the banks to discuss its implementation in the industry and to award the relevant points to the in-company programs.
CPD is aimed at ensuring that members with a professional designation remain relevant and informed and this is done through the attainment of CPD Credits.
What is required?
• 65 credits over 2 years
• Divided into verifiable and unverifiable credits
• Members are responsible for their own record
• Annual audit will be dome of a percentage of the membership each year
These fall into two categories:
Verifiable meaning it can be proven through assessments, attendance, proof of work
Unverifiable- is mostly professional reading or viewing of broadcasts and radio.
Members will be responsible in the main for uploading their own credits and we will be using a specific program for this
CPD= Professional
• Requirement for the retention of a designation
• Requirement for FAIS compliance
• Keep your knowledge relevant
• Covers a wide variety of activities
• Dual recognition with other institutes
• Enhance your professional status and as career development
How can you obtain the credits?
In developing the policy consideration was given to making it achievable and relevant.
For this reason all in company training which has been accredited by the Institute will qualify as verifiable CPD.
Coaching especially for members who work for example in call centre or FAIS positions will be recognised. Professional reading will be recognised.
Compliance exam preparation, compliance exams, formal education programs, workshops, conventions, seminars, research reports, lecturing- other than if this is your day job, pro bono work will all be creditable. The formal policy will be available on the website shortly and the policy will be implemented as of January 2015.
Today “brand” is an important concept which refers equally to merchandise as to an individual. We believe that in introducing professional designations complemented by continuous professional development you are ensuring the development of and the strengthening of your own unique brand and thereby your own marketability.
“Chartered Banker” Designation
The Academic Committee has now turned its focus towards the scoping and development of the apex designation. This designation will be aspirational and will seek to introduce a dynamic process for its attainment. The entry level will be at NQF level 9. The Committee will ensure that the process will be applicable and open to members across the country and the region and it will therefore not be solely face to face in its focus, although there will be an element of this.
Risk Management Consulting Opportunity.
The Institute’s continued credibility further demonstrated when the Chairman was contacted by a Vienna based organization to source appropriate consultants or recently retired Executives who have extensive practical experience in Risk Management practice. The project will focus on the upskilling of Sub Saharan banks in Risk management. This is a long term project which has EU funding. Applications were received from more than a dozen of our members and at the moment we are waiting to hear whether the project proposal submitted by Human resource Dynamics has been successful. A key factor in linking with the Institute is its Professional Body status and its Code of Professional Conduct. Any successful applicant therefore has to be a current member of the Institute
Critical Skills Visa applications
The Department of Labour has recently introduced a new requirement for foreign national professionals who wish to seek or remain in employment within sectors in South Africa. Various categories termed Critical Skills areas have been identified. The letter in support of the application for such a visa needs to be issued by a registered Professional Body. The IOBSA now assists with these applications and a formal process of verification has been developed. All applicants are required to become members of the Institute. The volume of applicants is increasing daily with most applications managed through specialist companies.
Operational
The leadership of an organisation should fall on a CEO and senior staff. Currently this operational role has been undertaken by the Chairman who acts in the capacity of Managing Executive. This has remained the situation for the past year in view of the financial constraints. The day to day office activities continue to be run by two full time staff, Martie Venter and Niekie Le Roux. Their work is much appreciated and members often comment on their delight at again having an Institute which is operational. The Directors have performed an invaluable role during the last year in achieving the successes to date. The Board decided at their recent meeting to keep this status quo for the moment until the financial position of the IOBSA increases significantly.
CONNECT
Membership
The membership numbers continue to increase and I am pleased to advise that currently we have around 300 paid up members efficiently and appropriately managed. The numbers are still well below where we would like and need them but then we have not yet undertaken a major or focussed marketing drive.
However as the saying goes “ it is better to have the tail of an elephant than the body of an ant- we have scope for growth!
IOBSA organisational Support
Part of the requirement to reposition the Institute was to ensure that its new role is endorsed by important industry players both locally and internationally. We have had discussions and meetings with various bodies and are pleased to advise that the following bodies support the IOB in its new role:
• South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
• Banking Association of South Africa (BASA)
• BankSeta
• Financial Services Board (FSB)
• SARB
• South African Reserve Bank Academy(SARB)
• National Credit Regulator (NCR)
• Alliance of African Institutes of Bankers of which the IOB was the founding member and first president.
• NCA training providers namely for whom we run the FAIS accreditation exams
• Ombudsman for Banking Services, Adv Clive Pillay
• SACCI, Neren Rau who is happy to support the IOBSA through the provision of research material as well as referring possible research or requests for information to the IOBSA
• The International Retail banking Academy, which I will touch on later in the report
• Variety of training providers
• Milpark Business School which is an Institutional member
• University of Johannesburg
• The NCR is now represented on our Board of Directors by Morris Maluleke and we maintain a close working relationship with them. The Institute has been invited to tender for the updating of debt counselling course material and for the responsibility of preparing a question databank for the examinations. Changes in the National Credit Act have necessitated an update of material and also of the examinations. We have lodged a tender with the NCR to develop the new material and databank. Part of this process would be to look at creating an online program which is more cost effective and accessible. We await the result of this submission
• As Chairman, I was invited to address the meeting of the Arab Bank Training Network at the launch of their new association in December 2013. The purpose was to inform them of the past and present role of the Institute and also to be present, as the Founder President of the AAIOB which is an organisation with a similar purpose. At that occasion we signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Egyptian Institute of Bankers. The purpose behind this is to strengthen a working relationship between the two organisations and to be able to draw on each other’s expertise.
As a result of this MOU we were invited to tender for franchise training to a group of Egyptian banks. This tender was successful and in April this year a group of trainers headed up by Len Haasbroek presented a 10 day course in Cairo. The training was very well received and subsequently there will be a reciprocal visit to South Africa by the delegates to learn first hand from some of our successful franchise operations
• Two meetings have been held with the Chairman and the CEO of the Lafferty Group which wishes to work together with and also receive accreditation for their international retail banking courses. These programmes have already been endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Scotland. It has been agreed that we will review their courses in line with the requirements for our Professional Banker designation.
• A formal MOU between the two organisations will also be signed at the beginning of September to create a closer working relationship in order to add further value for our members and also to increase membership. The Lafferty Group which is the holding company for IRBA is a research and printing organisation which will thereafter make its research papers available to our members at a significant saving. Other joint ventures will also be discussed going forward.
Africa Banking Conference
The representation of the Institute at the AAIOB AGM and the World Conference of Banking Institutes in Kenya last June resulted in our being nominated to host an African banking Conference under the banner of the AAIOB. This event will take place on the 12 and 13th November at the Sandton Convention centre and we hope to attract 280 delegates from across Africa and South Africa. The focus will be on Innovation and banking of the future. Currently our events company is proceeding will all the arrangements overseen by a Steering Committee. BankSeta are a joint partner with the Institute in this important event and we are currently seeking sponsors for the event.
A save the date has been sent and a website for the conference will be available shortly. A link through the IOB website will direct members there. Please support the event and have the opportunity of networking with a broader banking and financial services community. More information is available on our website
INFORM
According to Peter Drucker : The business enterprise has two — and only two — basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.
With this is mind our focus has been to rethink and thereby to innovate the Institute and start creating a new history. In order to inform members, potential members and the sector we start the focus on more effective and broad spread marketing.
A Marketing Committee has been established jointly chaired by and Steven Zwane and the Chairman. This committee will develop a comprehensive marketing action plan which will amongst others use various social media. To increase the support from the industry and thereby to increase the membership levels meetings will be arranged with:
• The Governor and/or Deputy Governor of the SARB in order to align the Professional Body with the new twin peaks legislation which is facing the industry
• Alignment of the SARB Academy courses with the designations of the Institute
• Meeting with the CEO’s of the various banks and thereafter the HR executives.
• A marketing roadshow to various centres to introduce the new IOBSA and garner members
Branding of an organisation forms part of marketing and promotion. For this reason the Marketing Committee at the request of the Board will develop a new look for the IOB which will be modern and dynamic, and will possibly include a change of name. My earlier quote regarding the history of an organisation is apt. The idea will be recognise the past but to focus on a new and more dynamic branding. Recent examples of other major companies have indicated that a change of branding and even name is not a negative move. But Watch our website for new developments and also to provide your input.
Review of the website
This time consuming task was undertaken at the beginning of 2014 by Sophia Nawrattel assisted by the Chairman. The website needed a major upgrade as great deal of the information was out of date. In addition we changed the look and feel of the site
Forms in use by the office were also amended and standardised to ensure greater efficiency. The website now has regular updates done by the Chairman and newsletters are sent out once a quarter. These are also published on the website.
NLRD
This process is still continuing. The information required by Deloitte and Bankseta has changed regularly which meant that the IOB was constantly playing catch up. We have provided all the information at this time and the delay is currently with the IT department of BankSeta which despite having the necessary information have not finalised the upload for approval.
As we aim to reach high the Board and the various committees will focus on :
• Develop and implement the marketing strategy
• Engage with all levels of industry role players and executives
• Implement the CPD policy and the web portal
• Run a successful Africa Banking Conference
• Increase the IOB membership
• Rebrand the IOB
• Define the concept of the Chartered Banker designation and commence development of the process for registering with SAQA
• Continue working with our MOU partners for mutual benefit
• Relocate to new offices, as the current lease expires in October
• Appoint executive management once the financial position allows
In conclusion I would like to make special mention of our Directors:
Benjamin Disraeli said: “The secret of success is constancy of purpose.”
In my opinion it is not only of purpose but of people and we were fortunate to have the support and input of the following directors this year, of whom several have been Directors since the relaunch:
The following Directors were appointed at the meeting of 15 August 2013:
Dinesh Fakir- FNB
Jalda Hodges- Independent FSP
Henk Potgieter- FNB
Jacques Strydom- Nedbank
Max Makhubalu
Bulelwa Makasi- ABSA and then FNB
Miss Makasi resigned from the Board in September 2013 due to work and time constraints.
The following persons were co-opted to the Board during the course of the year:
Mr Morris Maluleke joined the Board in October 2013, from the NCR.
Ms Sharmila Govind joined the Board in November 2013 from HSBC
Ms Dimikatso Seete joined as an alternate to Max Makhubalu from BankSeta.
Steven Zwane joined the Board in September 2013
I wish to thank these directors for their dedication and commitment during the past year and providing valuable input at our monthly meetings. The commitment to the Institute and the unique strengths of each of the Directors have ensured that the Institute continues to move forward.
Apart from the Board we were pleased to have the input from various consultants to assist on the Academic Committee. These people are Corlise le Roux from UJ, Andre van der Merwe, and Len Haasbroek. Thanks to Marietjie Ferreira for chairing the Academic Committee so ably.
Sophia Nawrattel, a Fellow of the IOB, provided her services pro bono and Pro Amico to the Chairman and in support of the Board meetings until June 2014 when work pressures prevented any further involvement. A number of important administrative processes were subjected to her scrutiny and updated. These were time consuming projects and we thank her for all the time spent assisting in this area.
Board Directors for 2014/2015
It is with pleasure that I am able to advise that all the current Directors including those co-opted after the last AGM have made themselves available for a further term of office. They are:
Dinesh Fakir- FNB
Sharmila Govind- HSBC
Jalda Hodges- Independent
Max Makhubalu- BankSeta
Morris Maluleke- NCR
Henk Potgieter- FNB
Dimikatso Seete- BankSeta (alternate)
Jacques Strydom- Nedbank
Steven Zwane- Barclays Africa
Their appointment is subject to the approval of the members at this meeting
Finally with all that has been developed and focussed on during not only this past year but since we re-launched the new Institute it should be pointed out:
“if you don’t like change you’re going to like irrelevance even less” A quote from General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, US Army
I hope that we are avoiding irrelevance
That concludes my report
Thank you
