Banking & Finance
Background
The University of Belize (UB) is tasked with being “a national, autonomous and multilocation institution committed to excellence in higher education, research and service for national development. As a catalyst of change it provides relevant, affordable and accessible educational and training programs that address national needs based on principles of academic freedom, equity, transparency, merit and accountability.”
UB was created on August 1st, 2000 from a merger of five institutions: the University College of Belize, the Belize Technical College, the Belize Teachers’ Training College, the Bliss School of Nursing, and the Belize College of Agriculture. UB has its main campus in Belmopan, with satellite campuses in Belize City, Central Farm and Punta Gorda along with two marine field stations on Calabash and Hunting Caye respectively. It has four faculties, namely Management and Social Science, Education and Arts, Science and Technology and Health Sciences. Additionally, the UB Environmental Research Institute (UB-ERI) was established in 2010 and then in October 2022, UB launched its second institute, the Intercultural Indigenous Language Institute.
The University is now poised to launch and operationalize its third institute, the UB Institute of Banking and Finance (UB-IBF).
Rational
The establishment of this institute is timely for several reasons. Firstly, Belizeans will, for the first time, have the opportunity to do their AML and other finance certification courses and training at home making it more convenient and cost effective for participants. Additionally, a number of organizations including banks, credit unions, insurance companies, real estate firms, among others are required by law to ensure proper training programs are in place for their staff. This institute will give them a home-grown option that is customizable and more cost effective. Thirdly, Belize passed its Securities Industry Act in 2021, which creates opportunities to develop a more sophisticated financial ecosystem. This will require the training and development of the human capital necessary to operate expertly in the sector. Finally, there are no other academic institutions in Belize offering specialized training, research and expertise in finance, hence, this institute will go a long way to fill this gap.
Aims and Objectives
The UB-IBF will offer a range of professional development and certification courses to working professionals, regulators, law enforcement personnel, UB students and others who are seeking a competitive advantage and or maintaining regulatory compliance. It will offer certification courses, workshops and conferences in the areas of Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism, Fraud Risk Management, Introduction to Equity Finance, How Capital Markets Function, and Securities etc. In concert with the above:
• The UB-IBF will develop and offer courses that will consider the local regulatory framework and the competitive environment. These courses will draw on local expertise with relevant experience and practical knowledge of the Belize financial sector whether within the private sector, enforcement agencies or government regulators.
• It will incorporate international best practices in the design and delivery of its courses and programs. This element is exemplified
through the MOU and partnership agreement signed between UB and AMLFC Institute, which will provide the UB-IBF with a turn-key program in the initial phase i.e. AML certification. The AMLFC Institute related certifications are recognized globally, thus giving UBIBF recognition.
• The UB-IBF will advocate and facilitate academic research, programs, conferences and other activities for the purpose of advancing the fields of Finance, AML, and Fraud Risk Detection etc.
• It will foster partnerships with local, regional and international organizations and associations to promote financial awareness, literacy and education.
• The UB-IBF will be the leading training institution in the field of finance in Belize.
• It will be an integral part of Belize’s financial landscape contributing to the evaluation and implementation of policies, regulations and best practices.
These certification courses will be tentatively conducted over a 15-week period with a subsequent final exam. The courses will be delivered initially on a face-to-face basis at FMSS (UB West Landivar Campus
- Belize City) however, blended and online courses will eventually be offered.
As the National University, UB seeks to support Belize’s national developmental needs in a number of ways, including the development of the financial sector. Unlocking Belize’s financial markets to accelerate the growth of SMEs, expanding financing options available to the private sector and providing the human resource expertise required to manage the fledgling capital markets in Belize are all major goals of the institute.
• Provide AML and other compliance certification courses in the field of finance
• Foster the application of sound fundamental concepts and financial management tools.
• Apply financial management concepts and tools to the decisions faced by a manager in risk management and investment decisions.
• Appraise the risk profile of entities; including calculating the costs of capital, debt and equity using financial data.
• Examine the operations of capital markets: the equity, bond and the derivatives markets, along with the operations of the capital and securities industry.
• Assess the current developments in the international financial environment and the implications for our local financial entities.
Management of the Institute
The institute will be headed by a full time coordinator whose office will be located in the Gian Ghandi Building, at the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences (FMSS), West Landivar, Belize City. The coordinator will be responsible for the daily management of the institute and will report directly to the Dean of FMSS. The coordinator will work closely with the Office of the President, Financial Services Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and other key stakeholders in order to achieve the objectives of the institute. Please see details of the job description attached.
For More Information Contact Us
e: ubibf@ub.edu.bz p: 822-1000 ext e: www.ubibf.ub.edu.bz