Company presentation

itcb logo

Foreword ITCB (in Hungarian Bankárképző) established its training and consulting business almost thirty years ago. What are the main features of ITCB? The first and most important one is that we do not offer ready-made solutions for our clients, but provide unique answers to the questions and recommendations for solving problems raised by the partners. Second – equally important – is the immense network of people and the body of knowledge that we have developed mainly through training. Our senior consultants are ITCB staff members, who have acquired vast and in-depth experience through the design, implementation, control and supervision of many projects in subject areas that fall into ITCB’s range of activities. External independent consultants (about 100 of them) make valuable contribution to our work, and their professionalism, experience, and expertise in specific areas are indispensable in finding solutions to our clients’ concerns. We are proud to state that only a few organisations are embedded in the financial sector in Hungary with such a vast array of academic and practical knowledge.

1 GENERAL PRESENTATION

The International Training Center for Bankers Ltd. (Bankárképző) was established in late 1988. The company was set up as the first institution of its kind in the CEE region by 28 Hungarian banks and the French training centre CIFPB. We are proud to be the leading bank consultancy and training company in Hungary. The owners’ structure underwent fundamental changes during the past almost three decades; by now the company is owned by the management. Clients of ITCB are from Hungarian banks and financial institutions, business and insurance companies as weel as from various governmental authorities. Tasks of ITCB have been accomplished by a strongly committed and highly qualified staff. Experience of experts from practice constitutes one of the pillars on which ITCB’s activities rest. Our employees, specialists and trainers provide a wide range of economic expertise. The majority of the team experts have company management, banking or academic background.


2 MAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITY

2.1 Training
In line with the ITCBs firm determination to improve the Hungarian financial sector, efforts have been made – as a top priority – to work out a comprehensive teaching methodology to meet this end. A large variety of courses both theoretical and practical depending on the subject matter (which are modules of a complex concept) have earned appreciation and recognition for ITCB.

The programmes offered by the ITCB have undergone significant changes during 30 years of our operation, but their backbone is still consistently determined by degree courses and short (targeted) seminars. Degree courses

  • Bank Management Programme (BADI) is a two-year post-graduate financial and banking training programme operated by ITCB and the Budapest Corvinus University offered for participants with university or college degree.
  • Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA) is a 3-semester programme operated by ITCB and the Hungarian Association of Capital Markets Professionals. It is an internationally accredited programme built on the curriculum of the European Federation for Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS).
  • Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and European Financial Advisor (EFA) Programmes are parts of the complex financial planner program. The objective of these programmes is to train highly-qualified financial planners to have adequate professional skills and experience in every field of financial consulting.
  • Assets, Fund, Portfolio (VAP) is a one-semester fund manager training programme taught with the Association of Hungarian Investment Fund and Asset Management Companies (BAMOSZ).
  • Certificate in Banking Programme (FEBI) is a one or two-year advanced distance learning programme developed for participants with secondary or with non-economic university education. This programme prepares for the qualified banking consultant qualification registered by the Hungarian National Qualification Register.
  • European Foundation Certificate in Banking (EFCB) is an excellent possibility for who are engaged in acquiring a European banking certificate issued by the European Banking Training Network (EBTN).

 

Short courses
The length of the short courses ranges from one day to two weeks and cover all relevant topics in banking and finance such as

  • Bank management
  • Banking simulation (FinSim)
  • Basel II, Basel III and Basel IV
  • Credit risk management
  • Operational risk management
  • ICAAP
  • SME financing
  • Treasury
  • Bank controlling
  • Risk based internal control and audit
  • Compliance
  • Financial markets
  • Stock analyses
  • Option, futures and derivatives
  • Bank IT Project Management
  • Big Data
  • Bank Security

ITCB regularly develops programmes responding to specific problems and requirements of individual companies. Therefore, a close cooperation with several companies to develop and implement their in-house training programmes is of utmost importance.

2.2. Consulting
As a consulting firm in the financial services sector, we are specialized in tailor-made business and risk management solutions.

Business solutions
On the basis of our experience in business training, our associates’ personal skills and our stable partnership contacts, we have set up an exceptional institution-neutral network. We have a key role in redesigning business strategies by preparing benchmark analyses, background studies and developing strategic recommendations. In the field of strategic and specialized bank consultancy, ITCB offers the following services:

  • design and set-up of complex training systems (including training of future trainers)
  • development of corporate strategies
  • evaluation of business plans and projects, profitability calculations
  • modernisation of financial management
  • market analysis, feasibility studies
  • introduction and operation of management information systems
  • controlling and internal audit
  • elaboration of project management
  • organisational design and redesign
  • banking supervision assignments
  • regional development
  • national and regional planning and programming
  • monitoring and evaluation of socio-economic programmes

Risk management solutions
Risk management and capital regulations (Basel II and Basel III, CRD) are our key competences. ITCB has started Basel II-related training and consultancy work in 1999 and kept track of the ever changing regulatory proposals since then.

During this time, we acquired a wide range of international and local experiences. From 2004 onwards, the company has been contributing to Basel II related projects connected to credit risk and operational risk in the field of project management and consultancy in several Hungarian banks. We run Basel training e.g. for the staff of Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority (PSZÁF) and organised numerous workshops for different target groups. ITCB has also been working on Basel II pillar two (ICAAP) projects including development of overall ICAAP methods and help in implementation.

ITCB has been contributing to the workout of operational risk handling methods under Basel II pillar one and pillar two in several banks. The Center coordinates and operates the operational loss database software called HunOR.

ITCB has carried out several banking supervision assignments - usually overall evaluation of banking activities - in designated commercial banks at the request of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority and its ancestor authorities. Due diligence assignments have been carried out not only in Hungary, but also in nearby countries.

ITCB participated in PHARE financed projects supporting preparation for accession; the company imparts high-level knowledge about the management of the Structural Funds for central government bodies and the regions, having also provided technical assistance to EU-related development programmes in Hungary.

Our experts are recognised both at national and international level, and they take part in a number of national and international research and development programmes.

ITCB offers the following specific services regarding such projects:

  • Professional support for the project team (overall due diligence, support in decision making, discussion of related professional issues, project management)
  • GAP analysis to investigate mismatches between the regulatory requirements and the practices of the given institution
  • Developing and validating scoring/rating systems
  • Developing and validating parameter estimation models (PD, LGD, EAD, CF)
  • Developing operational risk management systems (support in loss data collection, developing risk management procedures and AMA modelling methodology)
  • Developing and introducing ICAAP methodologies
  • Preparing and validating IRB application packages
  • Redesigning internal procedures
  • Designing and maintaining risk management reporting systems

2.4 Conferences
Linked to its training and consulting activities, ITCB organises year by year several national and international conferences and workshops in various fields. Topics from our latest events:

  • Outlook and development of banking and pension system
  • Changing strategies and priorities in banking 
  • Handling liquidity
  • Remuneration Policy
  • Financial regulation
  • Financial stability
  • Solvency II
  • Effective regional development in Hungary
  • PPP – Co-financing, Private Financing
  • Basel II seminar series
  • Credit bureau / Credit register
  • Credit risk
  • Euro cash changeover
  • Big Data

3. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Since its establishment, ITCB in its activity has been assisted by various foreign technical assistance projects and financial institutions in many different ways including for example financing long term consultants. The main supporters were the EU PHARE Programme and the British Know How Fund (early 90’s). In the last three decades ITCB has won the recognition of international institutions.

ITCB developed co-operation with numerous foreign training organisations during the different training projects. Apart from our regular partners, the French, the Belgian, the Dutch, the Luxembourg and the Portuguese banking training centres, we have excellent relationship with similar institutions in Germany, Great Britain, Greece and Scandinavia, but also with Serbia or Egypt.

Given the fact that ITCB’s staff has experience which can be used in other countries that face similar problems of economic transformation, several of our experts have been invited to contribute to projects concerning needs analysis, situation analysis and institutional development not only within the region (e.g. Albania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine) but also in the so-called TACIS-countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan) on the recommendation of our western partners and/or in co-operation with them.

For further information please contact:

Mr Béla Öcsi, CEO
Phone: +36-1-224-0701

Ms Erzsébet Vincze, Partner Consultant
Phone: +36-1-224-0728