FINSIA’s professional qualifications will soon be a necessity, according to one of the first Chartered Banker graduates.
Judo Bank Managing Director Relationships Stephen Mifsud F FIN - who was speaking on FINSIA’s latest Chartered Banker information session webinar - said the program would separate the best from the rest.
And he predicted that customers would recognise those individuals had the highest standards and capability - and take their business to organisations where they were employed.
“Becoming a Chartered Banker is fundamentally a way to differentiate yourself - not on your own technical capabilities,” he said.
“Anyone at this level, you would consider to have acquired those.
“It’s really to help set the benchmark and balance those technical capabilities with your ethical and moral obligation to society.
“It really gets back to our ability to do what we need to do to continue to support customers, whether they are customers or clients in the personal or retail space, or in the corporate and commercial space.
“It's about doing what is right and ensuring that comes first before anything else.”
Stephen - who started as a Chartered Accountant with a Chartered Accounting Certification, which is seen in the industry as the standout qualification - added: “In a similar fashion, I believe that Chartered Banker will, in time, be viewed as exactly the same.
“It's a good way to differentiate yourself. It's a good way to have yourself stand out from as a pack.
“Most importantly for all, I would argue that it's a badge you can wear with pride - whether you're running a business or leading a business, or whether you are a frontline banker, you then set the standards.
“You are the lighthouse on the hill as an individual with both the technical competencies and the ethical understanding of the implications of the decisions you make on a day to day basis.
“It is a way to make yourself stand out, not just yourself as an individual, but it's also the organisation as a whole.
“That's what will help the best stand out from the rest.
“Fast forward in five years, the best will have a chartered banking FINSIA qualification and the rest will not.
“In my mind, it'll be a fundamental determining factor as to the way customers or clients choose to allocate their banking services and who they trust for advice.
“For clients and customers and for the general public to know who to trust, FINSIA’s Chartered Banker will be the badge for those individuals.”
Delving deeper into the success of Judo Bank - which obtained its banking licence in April 2019 and is one of the few start-up banks to grow so rapidly with 250 staff in four offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth - Stephen agreed that professionalism is in Judo Bank's DNA.
Its focus on simple SME products, fast turnaround times, and having the best people was key.
He explained the business bank’s High-Tech and High-Touch philosophy, is “driven by hiring and recruiting and searching out who are the best bankers in market, and we're recruiting those to work for Judo.
“For us, I believe if you get the banker piece right, you support them with amazing technology. So that signifies that we have the best well-rounded capable bankers.
“I think that places us legitimately ahead of market.”
To catch up with Stephen’s full interview click here.
