The role of the Canadian banker has changed. A job within the financial services industry is no longer confined to one area. It’s common for bankers to handle everything from wealth-management asset accumulation plans to mortgages and estate planning — and have professional designations to back it all up.
Bankers surveyed by Investment Executive for this year’s Bankers’ Report Card indicate the most-earned designation in their crowd is the Personal Financial Planner. Of the 320 bankers polled, 20% said they had their PFPs and 6% were working toward one. The PFP is granted by the Institute of Canadian Bankers, the educational arm of the Canadian Bankers Association.
“The PFP is a comprehensive program of six courses,” says Lynn Jeanniot, executive director of the ICB in Toronto. “It usually takes about two years to complete. However, I think it’s important to mention that there are several designations that are relevant to bankers.” For instance, the ICB also grants the designation of the Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Banker, and offers an additional 14 programs and diplomas.
Bankers told IE that more training is necessary, especially as the banks are encouraging employees to expand their client services.
“The PFP is becoming big and it’s not easy,” says one Bank of Nova Scotia employee. “More than half [of the bankers] struggle with the PFP. We need lots more training. Managers have a two- to three-year deadline to get it, and personal banking officers will get a deadline eventually.”
Many of those polled complained about the lack of support they receive to earn these designations. “I don’t get any training,” says a Canada Trust banker. “They won’t even hook me up to the Internet to do my research. [I think] it has a lot to do with the budget, there isn’t a budget for anything.”
However, the times may be changing. At Scotiabank there are initiatives underway to help employees achieve their educational goals.
“They can take what we call ‘personal obligation’ days, which are outside of their vacation time, and the bank pays for the courses,” says Alice Eastman, vice president of performance and training services at Scotiabank.
That message doesn’t seem to be getting through. One Scotiabank employee surveyed agreed there are correspondence programs, but says they are only available on personal time. “There are no workshops or seminars. Scotiabank does nothing in training and we are forced to be taking courses constantly just to keep up. But we have to pay for [workshops] out of our own pockets,” he says.
A Laurentian Bank of Canada banker agrees. “We need more training, especially at the beginning, and more money spent on it.”
According to Canadian Bank Facts, published by the Canadian Bankers Association, there are 222,000 banking industry employees and the last time the average was calculated (in 1997) the total budget spent on training amounted to $300 million for the six largest financial institutions.
Although the PFP is the most common, there are other designations that are quickly rising in popularity. Of those polled, 15% said they had their Certified Financial Planner, while another 12.5% were working toward one. In third place is the Canadian Securities Courses, which was completed by 7.8% of bankers.
“You’re driven to do the CFP. They’re paying and if you don’t, you lose your job,” says a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce banker.
“Bank of Montreal is service, service, service-oriented, and they want everyone to have a CFP,” a BMO banker adds.
Jeanniot says each bank is adopting its own internal policies regarding designations.
“One thing for sure is that all the banks are supporting the new financial-planning proficiency standard,” she says.
The financial-planning proficiency exam is a proposed standard initiated by the Canadian Securities Administrators. Anyone, including bankers, who wants to call himself a financial planner must pass a mandatory exam. Planners will then hold a financial- planning licence.
Similar titles such as wealth manager, financial consultant or personal planner will be restricted.
“I believe if [bankers] want to position themselves as financial planners, they have to pass the common exam, and I’m convinced that the PFP will prepare them extremely well to pass that exam and also to serve customers efficiently and effectively,” says Jeanniot.
The banking industry is evolving into a full-service financial smorgasbord. It is inevitable that, in order for them to compete effectively with brokers and planners, bankers will have to go back to school.
Whether it means earning a PFP or a CFP, or meeting the proficiency standard, bank employees are going to need appropriate accreditation to provide clients with top-notch advice.