Industry bodies to vote on merger

The Securities Institute of Australia (SIA) and the Australasian Institute of Banking and Finance (AIBF) are to merge, subject to member approval from both organisations.

The proposal arose from preliminary discussions between the SIA Council and the AIBF Board aimed at forming a peak body for financial service professionals.

Members of both organisations will vote on the merger, which will create an organization of 20,000 members and 19,000 students, around the middle of this year.

This will follow the release in May of a detailed information pack on the merger to all members of both organisations, as well as face to face members briefings.

The merger is not expected to have any impact on the SIA’s financial planning courses or the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) program it runs on behalf of the Financial Planning Association.

SIA national president Fred Grimwade said the organisation’s “education business would basically remain unchanged, apart from giving us the opportunity to expand further into the banking and finance sector.

“Current and past SIA students will benefit from an increased choice in courses, and also from wider recognition of their credentials as part of a larger and highly influential alumni group.”

He said the greater scale achieved by the merger would make both organisations better placed to secure membership, students as well as corporate training growth into the future.

AIBF president Mike Pratt said the merger, if approved, would “provide members with enhanced services and access to a broader network within the financial services industry”.

“The current range of services offered by the AIBF and the SIA are complementary and a merger will enable the development of new programs for members and students alike,” he said.