(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Identify the different forms of Regulation relating to financial service providers.

Identify the main regulatory bodies in Ireland and their functions.

Discuss the range of regulatory rules that apply to intermediaries and/or product providers in their dealings with clients.

Describe the impact of legislation relating to consumer protection, money laundering, distance marketing, data protection & privacy, Investor compensation, unfair terms in consumer contracts and tax evasion.

Explain the functions and powers of the Financial Services Ombudsman and the Pension Ombudsman.

Specific areas covered:

Why financial service providers are regulated

Authorisation

Minimum Competency Code

Consumer Protection Code

MiFID

Data protection

Anti-money laundering.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Describe the personal financial need for a loan, and the different ways in which such a need can be met by different types of loans and consumer credit on offer.

Explain the features, benefits, limitations, security requirements and taxation treatment of consumer loans and credit arrangements, and their associated insurances.

Discuss and demonstrate the impact of regulation on the provision of housing loans and different forms of consumer credit.

Detail the steps and documentation involved in obtaining a housing loan and evaluate and recommend an appropriate housing loan option from those on offer.

Identify the issues and processes involved in debt restructuring and equity release and describe the process and protocols to be adopted for the recovery of loan arrears.

Specific areas covered:

Types of housing loans

Central bank requirements

Regulation

Loan application

Housing loan insurances

Arrears

Consumer credit.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Discuss the operation of the financial services markets and the impact of government economic and monetary policy on Investments.

Describe the features, benefits, limitations and risks associated with the different classes of investment assets available within the industry.

Identify and discuss the basic investment principles.

Demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of investments required to effectively advise clients.

Specific areas covered:

Markets

Asset classes

Shares

Bonds

Deposits

Collective investment schemes

Unit-linked savings

Regulation.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Explain the need for retirement provision.

Describe the taxation, legislation and regulatory framework for pensions.

Identify the features, benefits and risks of pension product options available to clients.

Display the skills and competencies required to effectively advise clients in all areas of Pensions.

Specific areas covered:

State pensions

Personal pension plans

Employer pension schemes

AVCs

ARFs

Annuities

Quantifying pension needs

Investment

Regulatory bodies.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Describe the main life assurance needs of the consumer at all life stages.

Explain the main features, benefits, limitations, and risks of different types of life protection policies.

Detail the issues involved in starting a policy and in paying out benefits.

Identify the constituents in a valid will and know the impact of the Succession Act.

Discuss financial mathematics principles that underpin personal life assurance and pension products and perform related calculations.

Specific areas covered:

Why protection is needed

Term assurances

Income protection

Serious illness

Business insurances

Estate planning

Unit-linked savings and bonds

Quantifying protection needs

Regulation.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Analyse and appraise a clients’ financial needs and attitude to risk.

Critically evaluate different financial products offerings and assess their relevance in structuring a financial portfolio that fulfils your clients’ needs.

Make an investment recommendation for a client on the basis of having assessed their needs, attitude to risk and match these against product offerings.

Prepare a detailed client financial review with regard to their life stage, personal circumstances, needs and attitude to risk.

Specific areas covered:

Providing advice to consumers

Consumer reviews

Suitability statements

Recap on retail financial products

Taxation issues.

(NFQ level 7, 5 ECTS)

Outline the rules of the Irish Stock Exchange.

Describe the main pieces of legislation that constitute the regulatory environment in which a stock broking firm operates in, e.g. Insider Dealing, Prospectus Directive, MiFID etc. Explain the role and functions of statutory bodies and persons in the regulatory environment, e.g. Financial Regulator, ODCE etc. Describe in general terms the various instruments traded and settled on the Irish Stock Exchange.

(NFQ level 7, 5 ECTS)

Describe the features and characteristics of various instruments traded on exchanges, e.g. equities, bonds, money market and derivative instruments.

Explain the issuance process, settlement process and trade reporting requirements employed for the main categories of instruments traded on an exchange.

Outline the process to assess a client’s needs from both a private client and institutional client perspective.

Describe the operation and compute simple calculations for the following taxation regimes in Ireland; Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Capital Acquisition Tax and Corporation Tax.

Explain the general accounting principles and the purpose of the primary statements in Financial Reporting.

Calculate the main accounting ratios and explain their significance.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Compliance is an established function in financial services and is recognised by regulators as an essential part of the control infrastructure. This module introduces the financial services industry and describes how it is regulated both in Ireland and internationally. To do this it looks at the concepts behind the theory of regulation and the role of the Central Bank of Ireland. It examines the role of the Compliance function in financial services organisations while also considering the ethical and fiduciary relationships involved.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

This module considers the significant increase in the complexity and volume of the regulation underpinning compliance procedures. It considers conduct risk and the role of Compliance professionals in implementing conduct of business rules in financial service organisations. It also explores the regulations implemented to address consumer protection, data protection, distance marketing, financial crime and insurance mediation and their impact on financial services organisations. In essence it is designed to assist students in developing a best practice approach to their conduct and business.

(NFQ level 7, 5 ECTS)

Assess the authorisation, supervision and prudential requirements for various financial entities Describe the legal environment which applies to financial services and outline the key principles of Company, Contract, Competition and Securities Law. Explain the nature of fiduciary relationships, and evaluate their significance in a regulatory environment

(NFQ level 7, 5 ECTS)

Appraise the concepts behind compliance practice, planning and monitoring and evaluate the broadening role of compliance and the compliance officer.

Analyse the importance of compliance reporting and devise a regulatory relations policy in relation to inspections, themed visits and routine relations.

Critically evaluate the importance of Ethics and Reputation in the compliance function.

Assess the system of controls, assurance and governance in an organisation and analyse the relationship between these and compliance.

Over the course of the module you’ll learn how to identify risk, how to apply risk  frameworks and how to mitigate digital risk. This practical module will be immediately relevant to your role as you develop a deeper understanding of trends in RiskTech, RegTech and emerging threats through analysis of real-world case studies.  The topics include:

• Introduction to Digital Risk Management and scope and types of digital risk

• Cyber Risk

• Risk FrameworksM

• Managing Digital Risk

• RegTech

• The Regulatory Environment

• Operational Resilience

5 ECTS

(NFQ level 7, 5 ECTS)

Consumer Protection Risk Assessment and Conduct Risk

Consumer Protection Risk Management Frameworks (CPRMF). Conduct risk and conduct risk standards. Selling financial products appropriately - including outcomes. Understanding of customer experience. Drivers and causes of conduct risk. Constituents of conduct risk including behavioural economics. Relationship with the overall banking risk framework. Conduct risk appetite statements. Conduct risk policies and common metrics. Conduct risk impacts on customers, on employees, the financial institution and on markets.

Culture and Behaviour

Understanding the importance of culture in ensuring good customer outcomes. Indicators of an effective risk culture. Regulator expectations and reports. Roadmap for achieving desired culture. Governance arrangements around the design, monitoring, and analysis of culture MI. How culture can be assessed in organisations/culture audits. Understanding the role of group dynamics. Diversity, inclusion and its impact on decision making. Understanding the impact of biases when making compliance decisions. Understanding and embedding ‘Consumer Focus’ behaviour. Understanding the role of mind-set and sense-making on behaviours and how this is being applied in supervision of culture and behaviours. CPRA and Behavioural Economics.

Ethics

Foundational concepts of ethics, values and integrity. What it means to be ethical in financial services and how the right ethical climate supports good decision-making. What obligations does the financial services industry have to customers? What is the right thing to do?. What happens when things go wrong. How to effectively challenge and escalate.

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Describe the information society and explain the impact of digital technologies for economies, business, management and financial services in the medium and long term

Outline the Information Technology elements, human inputs and processes that go into creating digital services and products

Describe online banking from both the bank and customer perspective

Trace how the digitisation of payments has evolved from credit and debit cards to instant online payments, digital wallets and of the emerging business landscape within the digital financial services sector

Assess technologies, products and services in early stage development that may impact on the digital financial sector

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Explain how Data Analysis and Business Intelligence are being used to modernize and drive value in financial services

Explain the conceptual foundations of Business Intelligence and describe the project frameworks for successful delivery

Explain how data is managed, governed and controlled at enterprise scale and how a data analyst carries out data management Apply the fundamental techniques and tools for data analysis Apply the practical skills to develop Business Intelligence report and explain how BI solutions scale to enterprise level

(NFQ Level 7, 5 ECTS)

Outline how Advanced Analytics is being used to modernize and drive value in financial services. Explain how basic descriptive statistics bring extra rigour and depth to data analysis.

Draw conclusions from data using the basic techniques of inferential statistics. Use the powerful business technique of A/B testing to determine best outcomes. Explain how predictive modelling techniques are applied to solving real world problems Outline the wider set of analytical tools and how to choose the appropriate tool to solve your business problem.

(NFQ level 7, 10 ECTS)

• Introduction to sustainable finance

• Response to planetary change

• Catalyst for change and eu regulatory initiatives

• Principles of responsible banking | IFS Stream – Principles of Responsible Investment

• Sustainable banking | IFS Stream – Sustainable Funds

• Non-financial disclosures, climate and sustainable reporting

• Risk management

• Green, social and sustainable bonds

• Implementing a culture of sustainability

• The future path

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

Key categories of risks to which banks are exposed with focus on credit risk.

Basel principles for the management of credit risk.

Bank risk appetite frameworks.

Components of the credit risk management framework.

Credit portfolio management and credit concentration risk.

Credit risk appetite statements.

Credit culture.

The end to end credit process.

Overview of the canons of lending.

Credit application process.

Bank capital.

Risk weighted assets.

Basel II & Basel III, Basel IV.

Minimum Regulatory Requirements.

Introduction to credit models.

Impairment provisioning.

Stress testing.

Impairments and capital.

Pricing for risk.

Key Lessons from Irish banking crises, Honohan Report, Regling & Watson, Nyberg.

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

On completion of this module, students will be expected to be able to: Explain what is meant by CEM. Explain the key stages in the CRM process. Demonstrate an understanding of the customer relationship cycle and the implications for financial institutions. Demonstrate an understanding of what customers value in their relationship with their financial institution. Discuss the ethical conduct underpinning interactions with customers. Assess the implications of regulation on CEM practices.

This module provides students with a framework that can be used to analyse contemporary business economic issues. As a standalone economics module, the focus is on developing awareness of economic issues and their linkages to financial markets. On completion of this module, students will have:

• Analyse a country’s macroeconomic performance using a wide range of macroeconomic data and statistics

• Evaluate current fiscal and monetary policies in Ireland and major international trading partners elsewhere

• Demonstrate the application of key concepts in both microeconomics and macroeconomics

• Analyse why different market structures create differing levels of competition and business performance

• Evaluate how businesses can leverage profitable opportunities to gain greater control over its markets and strategic rivals

On successful completion of this module candidates should be able to:

• Apply Financial statement analysis and financial ratios, and their use in analysing the performance and well being of a company.

• Value a bond and other financial assets. 

• Apply the use of investment appraisal methods in different business decisions, including expanding the business, and international investment. 

• Understand how derivatives including forwards, futures, and options are used for investment purposes.

• Critically understand how the risk and return of assets and how portfolios and asset pricing models such as the CAPM can aid investments.

• Be knowledgeable on the details for difference sources of long term and short-term financing that a firm can use. 

• Understand whether markets are efficient and implications for market users.

This module aims are to provide you with insights on management theory, thinking and practice to support the application of the knowledge and tools to manage a business or function more effectively. On successful completion of this module candidates should be able to:

• Apply tools for analysing the business environment and assess strategic alternatives

• Assess and recommend management approaches for effective business management.

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

Operational risk defined. The importance of operational risk and the Probability Risk and Impact SysteM (PRISM). The differences between operational risk and other types of risk. Recent failures in operational risk. Operational risk basics. Three lines of defence. Operational risk taxonomies. Operational risk management frameworks. Risk capacity. Risk appetite statements. Risk policies. Risk pricing and capital. Risk information, Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) reporting and KRI framework. Risk assessment. Risk management and action plans. Risk modelling. Insurance mitigation.

The practical workshop areas will include inter alia: Financial crime prevention. Anti–Money Laundering/Countering of Financing of Terrorism. Know Your Customer, Irish and UK. Anti- Corruption laws. External and internal fraud. Information security, IT resilience, cybercrime. Outsourcing. Business continuity planning. Data quality and other practical areas.

10 ECTS

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

On completion of this module, students will be expected to be able to: 

• Apply their understanding of theories and core principles underpinning banking in a real-world context

• Identify the range of risk banks are exposed to and be able to evaluate and implement risk-mitigation strategies

• Critically evaluate the transmission of banking risks and the wider societal implications

• Critically reflect upon their professional practice and their role and contribution within the banking profession.

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

On completion of this module, students will be expected to be able to: Describe and explain the main features, characteristics of SMEs and various legal trading entities available to SMEs in Ireland and the features of the main sectors in which SMEs operate. Describe and discuss the features and characteristics of the main types of security for SME lending. Use a framework for SME credit analysis (adhering to the canons of lending to undertake a complete credit assessment of an SME credit proposal, including detailed financial analysis of financial accounts including sensitivity analysis, repayment capacity, security analysis, and an analysis of the business’ competitive position, its management and its core competences to form a judgement of whether to approve, defer or decline the request. Prepare and interpret Cash Flow Statements. Explain working capital management and its importance to an enterprise’s profitability and liquidity. Communicate clearly to pertinent stakeholders (internal and external) the bank’s credit policy and requirements for SME’s.

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Demonstrate an appreciation of the ways in which digital product management drives digital transformation in financial services

Appreciate the roles and responsibilities of digital product managers and their teams

Understand the importance of digital products and services in financial services competitiveness, strategy and risk

Understand key trends associated with the ways that data and intelligence drive financial services Product and Service Development

Critically reflect upon your own professional role and contribution to financial organisations in the context of the application of digital technologies and systems.

(NFQ Level 8, 10 ECTS)

• Traditional banking facilities for SME borrowers

• Alternative sources of finance for SMEs

• Start-up business lending

• Agricultural lending

• Property lending

• Conducting the borrower loan interview

• Writing the credit application

• Negotiating final terms and conditions

• Legal documentation and drawdown

• Procedures for deciding on impairment provisions

• Monitoring and control framework

• Identifying and reviewing a potentially distressed customer

• Negotiating with customers in difficulty

• Managing arrears and restructuring

• Cancelling facilities, collections and recoveries

• Loan restructuring options

• Importance of the facility letter in impairment cases

• Legal remedies for recovery.

At the end of this module, you will understand:

• What is sustainability and what does it mean for the economy, business and the financial sector;

• ESG origins and evolution - you will gain knowledge of macro level sustainability issues for the economy, business and the financial sector. Examine the relevance of corporate purpose and how compliance, culture and ethics can align to support the sustainability strategy within a financial services organisation;

• Sustainable Finance - what and why? The evolution of sustainable finance and ESG. Review the key stakeholder groups driving the sustainable finance agenda globally, why they are doing so and what specifically they are doing;

• Climate change and climate-related financial risk and opportunity;

• Promoting a culture of compliance; are individual accountability regimes and controlled functions aligned with supporting the sustainability strategy in financial services?;

• Ethics, compliance and corporate culture in financial services;

• Corporate purpose (in the context of financial services firms) and corporate sustainability strategy;

• Primer on financial services regulatory and supervisory landscape (Ireland, EU, UK & US also international influences e.g. IOSCO, FSB, NGFS);

• Sustainable Finance in action across financial sectors (i.e. what does ESG mean at the level of a bank, an asset manager, insurance firm, an investment fund, pension etc).