The Banking sector is an integral part of the Indian economy, driving the country’s financial growth. Becoming a part of an ecosystem that drives the country’s economy is indeed an exciting and challenging call. Besides a strong academic background, practical skills, logical reasoning, analytical skills and aptitude are the mandatory ingredients needed to build a career in banking. Ensuring a successful career-building requires strategic preparation such as taking up specialized education and training.
Having the basic qualifications of a bachelor’s degree may grant you entry into the field. However, the banking sector today wears a transformed face characterized by frequently changing regulations, massive adoption of technological innovations and integration of Indian banks into the global financial eco-system. Thus, it takes more than just a qualification to break into the banking sector. Additionally, the labour market today is highly competitive with employers seeking professionals with high-level competencies.
Let us break down the importance of pursuing a banking course and find out what are the top banking courses after graduation that aspiring individuals may consider for building a successful career in a banking job.
Why Pursue Banking Courses after Graduation?
Preparing yourself better for the job competition is vital. Banking courses have emerged as a significant step in building a successful career in banking. They are professionally oriented courses aimed at delivering capacity-building education and preparing prospective candidates with the right skill sets and aptitudes. Candidates get to build job-specific skills and become efficient at tackling modern banking challenges.
Bankers today must be dynamic, versatile, tech-savvy and have knowledge beyond their grasp of financial fundamentals. Banking professionals are expected to be competent in navigating key financial risks, be well-versed with fintech, understand compliance, and keep abreast of digital disruptions. All these competencies are structurally and formally trained under a banking course. Banking courses compensate and tide over the talent deficit in the job market by training exclusive and specialised industry skills. Pursuing a banking course right after your graduation means having a double-edge advantage as you break into the field with all the necessary skills in tremendous demand.
How to find the best banking course?
The banking sector is diverse with multiple verticles and branches such as Retail banking, Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Risk Management, Financial Consulting and Advising. There are varied functions within a bank as well. Multiple institutes today have democratized learning opportunities and developed customized areas of banking courses to ensure skills development to cater to a varied spectrum of banking. The one inviolable step to identifying the area you wish to work on and take on a course is determining your career goals in alignment with your interests and strengths. The rest factors will follow suit once you determine the goal you are targeting.
Finding the best banking course also requires researching the desired program curriculum, and faculty quality and validating all the information by consulting with a senior or alumni. You may also need to check the course fees to ensure it doesn’t become a financial burden to you.
Top Banking Courses After Graduation
Let us identify some of the popular and top banking courses that you can consider pursuing after your graduation.
Postgraduate program in Banking and Finance: A PGP in Banking and Finance is an excellent course that gives comprehensive and specialized training in banking and finance. The course focuses on skills development in core areas including financial analysis, strategic planning, risk management, banking systems, compliance etc. Students not only develop key-domain strengths but also nurture interpersonal skills that are vital in the Banking and finance industry. The duration of a Postgraduate program in Banking and Finance may last for 9-12 months. The cost and duration may vary depending on the institution you choose.
Postgraduate program in Retail Banking: Retail Bankers have emerged as key drivers of the banking industry making a career in retail banking highly sought after. Completing a Retail banking course will open several opportunities and it has become the most popular career choice among banking professionals. If your interest lies in handling the customer side of banking, this course is a good choice. The program trains students about the fundamentals and the intricacies of banks offering services and products to their general masses. The program typically delves into retail banking functions like financial transactions, loan sanctions, financial advice and assisting customers with risk management. Completing this course will open up
Postgraduate Program in Investment Banking and Operation: Completing this course will make you a valuable asset for companies as you have the expertise to enable them to raise capital, offer strategic financial suggestions, facilitate mergers and acquisitions, etc. A PGP in Investment Banking and operations will equip you with these vital skills. You will also develop specialized knowledge of the operational strategies of banking institutions. An Investment Banker is one of the most highly paid professions in the banking sector.
Besides the above professional banking courses, if you are interested in following a traditional university-level degree program there are several courses that you can consider going after:
- Master of Commerce with Specialization in Banking
- M.Sc in Banking and Finance
- MBA in Banking and Finance
- MSc in Financial Services in Banking
- MSc in Finance Banking and Insurance
- MSc in Banking and Risk
- MSc in Banking, Finance and Risk Management
- Master of Banking and Finance Law
Aside from these courses, certain banks take the onus of providing courses for their prospective employees and for the existing workforce. These banks include- SBI, ICICI, Yes Bank, HDFC, etc.
Top Banking Certification Courses
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)
- Financial Risk Manager (FRM)
What Topics are covered in the Banking Courses?
While the course structure and curriculum vary depending on the specialization and institution, there are a few topics common across banking courses in India:
- Foreign Exchange
- Modern Banking Theories
- Financial Marketing Services and Markets
- Banking Laws
- Financial Accounting
- Banking and Finance Principles
- Taxes: Direct and Indirect
- Commercial bank Management
- Banking Awareness
- International Banking and Finance
- Economics of Global Trade
Banking courses are critical for attaining a banking job today. Banking and financial institutes are looking for skilled professionals, foregoing the traditional method of focusing on a single qualification. Thus, pursuing a banking course will accelerate your career goals and land you a banking job.
