Manama: A new training programme set for launch next month at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) is aimed at reviving bank lending in Bahrain and the wider GCC region.
BIBF head of banking, accounting and finance, IT, research and advisory Deen Jayah told the GDN in an exclusive interview that in today’s financial services industry, there was a lot of volatility in the market which had led to a credit crunch.
“Banks tightening lending due to the current market conditions is actually counterproductive as they need to learn to lend smarter with a lower level of risk, not to reduce lending altogether,” he said.
“A reason for this is that there exists a gap at the top management level in terms of risk assessment so we decided to launch the Advanced Corporate Credit Analysis Programme in partnership with Fitch Learning.”
According to Mr Jayah, the intensive three-day workshop conducted by Fitch Learning’s subject matter experts, aims at enhancing the credit analytic skills of participants at an advanced level.
It is a unique programme, previously only available in New York and Chicago, he said.
“Participants will use a structured and systematic approach to evaluate the credit standing of a company and assess the relative attractiveness of the risk-return profile of the lending/investing proposition.
“This is a highly interactive workshop where case studies and exercises are used to illustrate key learning points.
“A case study presentation tailored to the local market will form part of the workshop allowing participants to apply the concepts acquired during the workshop to a real-life scenario,” he added.
Participants will be encouraged to be focussed and concise in developing and articulating credit judgement.
The BIBF official said the course comes in response to industry demand for more senior-level training.
The course fees are BD950 and are subsidised for banking and financial services institutions by BIBF.
The first batch of the programme will be held from December 6-8 at the BIBF campus in Juffair with the second batch likely in the first quarter next year.
He said the institute has also initiated other key programmes like International Compliance Association (ICA) Specialist Certificate in Trade-Based Money Laundering and CBB rulebook mandatory programmes such as Series 79.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))