The Swiss Finance Institute is holding an international programme for bankers, held in early September, which readers of this publication may find useful.

Academics and industry practitioners in the banking industry, including wealth management, will gather in early September this year for The Swiss Finance Institute’s International Bank Management programme. This is aimed at giving executives ideas on improving businesses and swapping ideas and experiences with peers from different countries.

The Zurich-headquartered SFI said its programme “explores the drivers behind the challenging development confronting the industry today. On one hand, the programme explores critical finance concepts pitched at a level that is tailored to non-specialists. On the other hand, the programme addresses managerial responses to the production and delivery of modern financial services in these challenging times”.

Such a course comes at an opportune moment. As far as the Swiss banking and related financial sector is concerned, one of the main challenges is that the sector, which in total accounts for around 12 per cent of the country’s GDP, has seen the country’s decades-old bank secrecy laws under relentless international pressure; at the same time, banks have been hit by the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, with the attendant sharp rises in capital requirements and caps on leverage. All the while, such institutions have seen the growth in use of technology-driven banking and ever-rising demands from clients for high-level service and value for money. On the other hand, Switzerland’s centuries-old history as a financial hub; its stable polity and rule of law, international connections and transport routes, continue to make it one of the premier financial centres in the world.

The SFI said its programme is aimed at senior managers responsible for several business lines or a significant single business. Normally, participants have at least 10 years of experience, of which five years are in a managerial role, and on average 40 years’ old. The schedule runs from 10 to 19 September this year (14 September, a Sunday, is not included.)

Core topics include wealth management; private client business; commercial banking; asset management; investment banking and corporate finance; global financial markets; strategic bank management, risk management and value chain/processes.

Academics leading the programme feature the following individuals:

Professor Rüdiger Fahlenbrach, Professor of Finance at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Alfred Mettler, Professor of Finance at George State University (Atlanta, US); Rudolf Gruenig, Professor for Business Administration at the University of Fribourg; Roger Otten, Assistant Professor of Finance At Maastricht University; Horst Loechel, Professor of Economics at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management; Kevin Stringer, Chair of the Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University Geneva.

Fees are SFr14,950($16,982), inclusive of VAT. The registration deadline is 11 July; there is restricted admission and applications are reviewed by the Program Director, who decides on acceptance. The course is conducted in English. When the programme is completed, participants are awarded a certificate and entitled to be a member of the Swiss Finance Institute Alumni. For more details on the course, see here.

(Editor’s note: The SFI gave an interview to this publication last year about its activities; see here. This news service aims to publish relevant thought-leadership papers from the SFI in future, which we hope readers find useful.)