Do you trust your banker? The American Bankers Association’s Institute for Certified Bankers wants its members to take a closer look at ethical issues facing the industry.
The ABA plans to emphasize ethics by adding a fifth section on the Certified Trust and Financial Advisor exam, which will address “professional ethics,” the organization announced late last month.
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Rhode Island banking professionals attribute the enhanced scrutiny on ethics to widely publicized financial scandals at companies such as WorldCom Inc. and Enron Corp.
“Those scandals that we have read about in the newspaper have fueled a heightened awareness of ethics,” said Joanne Speroni-Woody, vice president and estate officer for Citizens Bank of Rhode Island. “I think as professionals we have to conduct ourselves ethically at all phases of our work with clients.”
Speroni-Woody, who has completed CTFA training along with other employees at Citizens, said the ethics section of the certification exam will inform bankers about potential conflicts of interest and help prevent them from making mistakes that breach ethics codes.
The ethics section will comprise up to 5 percent of the CTFA exam, which is now composed of four sections dealing with fiduciary and trust activities, personal finance, insurance and estate planning, tax law and investment management, according to the ABA.
The CTFA Advisory Board, which decides the content of the exam, concluded recently that, though ethics was already part of the test, the current business and regulatory climate warranted a separate section, the ABA said.
“By separating ethics into its own category, we believe it illustrates that ethics is a vital part of the successful trust and investment professional’s everyday responsibility,” said Rebecca Sargent, chair of the CTFA Advisory Board, in a statement.
In addition, the Advisory Board decided that CTFAs must complete continuing education courses in professional ethics as part of their continuing education requirements.
“This emphasis on ethics is just another indication of the relevancy of the Certified Trust and Financial Advisor designation,” said Howard Walseman, ICB executive director, in a press statement.
Speroni-Woody, noting that ethics sections recently were added to such tests as the Certified Public Accountant exam, agrees.
“I think that we can say that Citizens Bank highly supports the ethics requirements for professional certifications, and applauds the Institute of Certified Bankers for demonstrating its commitment to ethical standards beyond pure academic ones.”
The ethics section will appear on the multiple-choice test beginning in September, and the continuing education requirements for ethics take effect in January 2006.
