December 6, 2023

Black Bankers ERG Executive Summary - Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Announcements

• The next Black Bankers ERG meeting will be February 21 at 3.m ET.
• The Black Bankers ERG also hosts a networking meeting on January 25, at 2pm ET.
• The AAPI Bankers ERG is focused on supporting and uplifting Asian American and Pacific Islander bankers across the nation. The next general meeting is January 23 at 3pm ET.
• The next Women in the Model Risk Management Development meeting will be on December 13 at 3 p.m. ET.
• Women Lead Workshops help bankers develop critical leadership skills to propel their careers and organizations to the next level. The next workshops discuss How to Foster Collaboration on Teams and How to Champion Change. Whether you are an emerging leader or a seasoned leader looking to fine-tune your skills, join us to discuss different leadership competencies to grow your skills. Learn more about these opportunities.  

Resources

The Financial Empowerment subcommittee's mission is to help reduce the wealth gap by increasing financial knowledge to empower and uplift communities.

A strong financial education can help support individuals to meet various goals in life. Below is a document with various resources that include prudential regulators, banking, and other consumer finance organizations that can be leveraged as tools to obtain and provide helpful information to individuals and communities that will aid in empowering people to make confident financial decisions.

Presentation by Gauri Sharma

Gauri Sharma is the Vice President of ABA Professional Certifications, with strategic responsibility for the six certifications that ABA offers. Gauri and her team work closely with volunteer banker Advisory Boards to develop, administer, and evaluate dozens of certification exams to nearly 2,000 bankers throughout the year. ABA Certified professionals total 13,600 and growing. ABA’s most popular certification is the CRCM or Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager. There are currently 6,126 active CRCMs. This is the most recognized compliance credential in the industry and is highly desired for bankers in compliance roles.

ABA’s newest professional certification is the Certified Enterprise Risk Professional (CERP). Created in 2018, this is the industry's first-ever certification focused on enterprise risk management. Over the last four years, it has averaged 24% year-over-year growth. The certification focused on financial crimes is the Certified AML & Fraud Professional (CAFP). This is the only certification that spotlights BSA/AML, fraud, and cyber-enabled crimes. While many other certifications target international banking crimes, this certification focuses specifically on US banks and US banking laws and regulations.

ABA’s second largest certification is the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA). The CTFA has been offered for over 30 years and exclusively emphasizes holistic wealth management. The curriculum of this certification is updated to spotlight new dynamics in family relationships that have changed over the past few decades. Our Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP) is the only industry certification geared for IRA service professionals. It is a niche market but well-known in IRA spaces. Our final certification is the Certified Financial Marketing Professional (CFMP). Its goal is to set up bank marketing professionals for executive leadership.

ABA’s certifications offer professional validation, industry recognition, and opportunities for career advancement. Once a banker is certified, they must submit continuing education credits every 3 years. ABA hosts a multitude of opportunities to receive these credits. For more information on beginning your journey as a certified professional please visit here. Do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected] for more questions.

ABA Certifications Presentation

Q&A

Q: Is there a difference between a certificate program and a certification?
A: Yes. For a certificate program, you take a series of courses followed by a test on your knowledge of those courses. Once completed, you have that certificate forever. A certification is a lifelong engagement. After completing an examination on a particular topic, you must continue to show expertise in that field by completing continuing education credits for the certification to stay valid. In ABA’s case, those credits must be submitted every 3 years.

Q: Can you speak on the cost and pricing of these certifications?
A: Each certification has a different criterion for completion. The fees vary on training, courses, conferences, webinars, etc. If you go to the ABA webpage here and click on the specific certification you are interested in, it will take you to a page with all of the relevant information. Many banks will pay for their employees to become certified in a specific field. We recommend reaching out to your manager and/or human resources team to understand the process at your bank for being sponsored for a certification.

Q: What is considered a passing grade for the CRCM? What are the prerequisites?
A: The CRCM has a final exam of 200 questions. Any grade over 500 is considered a passing grade. See the prerequisites for each certification. For additional questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Committee Updates

Financial Empowerment Committee

• Nick Means will represent the BBERG on a panel in February hosted by ABA. The panel is titled “Advancing Financial Empowerment: Helping Your Customers Overcome Financial Trauma & Stress.” We will share more details at a later date.

Networking Committee

• The next networking call will be on January 25 at 2 pm ET. This call will allow attendees to connect on a more one-on-one level compared to larger general meetings.

Mentorship Committee

• The committee is excited to launch its inaugural mentorship cohort in February. They are still looking for mentors.

Professional Development Committee

• The professional development committee was instrumental in putting together the general meeting with Gauri. One of their goals is to raise awareness for professional development opportunities. If you are interested in joining this committee or have any additional ideas for opportunities, please reach out to Cathy Nestrick.

Thank you for joining!