OVERVIEW
CIFS is an established provider of educational programs and seminars in the field of financial services. CIFS has been at the forefront of providing professional education in the local financial services sector for more than 50 years. Over the years, the Institute has made various strategic alliances to provide qualification programmes that are well established and recognised within the financial services sphere. The latest collaboration being with the London Institute of Financial Services LIBF.
Industry: Financial Services
Website: https://www.cifs.com.cy
HISTORY
Cyprus Institute of Financial Services (CIFS) is a society (not-for-profit legal entity) registered in the Republic of Cyprus and is the successor to The Chartered Institute of Bankers, Cyprus Centre. The Institute was originally established in 1970 as an overseas centre of The Chartered Institute of Bankers, of England and had gradually succeeded in becoming one of the most well organised and active centres. It is worth noting that one of its members, Mr. Iacovos Pashos,Hon. FCIB, was the first overseas member to be awarded the title of Honourary Fellow in 1998. In April 2005 Mr. Charalambos Charalambides, Hon. FCIB was awarded an Honorary Masters Degree by the University of Manchester together with an Honorary Fellowship of the Institute, for his services in banking education in Cyprus and Europe.
In June 1995 The Chartered Institute of Bankers-Cyprus Centre, was registered as a legal entity under the Societies and Institutions Law, 1972 – Law № .27/72 of the Republic of Cyprus. In July 2001 the Institute of Financial Services, Cyprus was registered as a brand name of the Chartered Institute of Bankers-Cyprus Centre, to reflect similar developments in the UK. In January 2010 the name of the Institute was changed to Cyprus Institute of Financial Services (CIFS).
CIFS is a founder member of EBTN (European Banking Training Network), which was founded in 1998.
In 2017 changes to the Institute’s Articles were approved, which inter alia augment the eligibility criteria in respect of the recruitment of new members, thus enabling the Institute to broaden and expand its membership base.
Originally established as an overseas centres.
ACTIVITIES
The core mission of our Institute is the provision of quality education services and training to banking and financial services professionals.
The main activity of CIFS is the provision of training to bank employees, through high quality seminars in a range of relevant topics such as:
- International trade finance
- Management
- Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT )
- Know Your Customer/Customer Due Diligence
- Lending
- Risk management
- Corporate governance and industry regulations (e.g. PSD and GDPR)
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Since its founding in 1970 the Institute played an important role in all the activities of the English parent Institute.
- The Cypriot candidates achieved in all examinations marks higher than the worldwide average.
- The Cypriot candidates achieved higher results worldwide on numerous occasions.
- In all graduation ceremonies Cypriot graduates formed a large percentage of the total.
- Cypriot membership always exceeded proportionately the membership of all local centres. At one time in the 1990s membership exceeded 2.000.
- CIFS always played a leading role in all the activities of the English parent Institute both academic and social. The Institute boasts the visit of numerous Presidents of the parent English Institute. Moreover, under the leadership of Mr. Christakis Constantinou (Corporate Manager of Bank of Cyprus) the CIFS was the winner of a number of the ‘Banking Games’ competitions organised by the parent English Institute, having won the last 3 competitions of the event;
- Last but not least CIFS managed through hard work to introduce the Institute and exams in Cyprus at a time when the task looked impossible. Not only that but it managed to convince the banks to offer financial assistance to candidates and most of all generous benefits to all successful candidates. The culmination of this was the recognition of Associates as equivalent to holders of post-graduate degrees, both salary wise and career wise.