History
Finsia – Financial Services Institute of Australasia – was formed in 2005, when members of Securities Institute of Australia (SIA) and the Australasian Institute of Banking and Finance (AIBF) voted in favour of merging into one organisation.
The merger brought together a combined wealth of expertise and experience dating back to 1886. The shared heritage of SIA and AIBF strengthened Finsia’s position to become the leading membership body for financial services professionals.
Australasian Institute of Banking and Finance
Established in 1886, the AIBF was the longstanding professional association of banking and financial services practitioners. It was the third oldest banking institute in the world and one of the oldest professional associations in Australia. AIBF brought to the merger a rich heritage including:
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Strong links to the banking and financial services sector in Australia and New Zealand
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Broad membership across the sector
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Well-established links with banking institutes worldwide
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A partnership with the Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies
Securities Institute of Australia
The SIA was established in 1966 with an initial aim of promoting the professionalism of stockbroking, which expanded over 40 years to cover the breadth of the financial services industry.
From the first formal course in further education for the Australian financial sector with eight graduates, SIA grew to be the largest independent provider of financial services education in Australia. In addition, SIA developed strong industry policy analysis and commentary capabilities. It became a respected voice on behalf of its members on legislative and regulatory issues which advanced the ethical and efficient operation of financial markets.
SIA had a global membership across a broad range of specialisations, which provided members with a wide range of seminar topics and professional contacts.
Sale of Finsia education business
In 2007, Finsia members voted in support of a Board recommendation to sell the education business to Kaplan Inc for $36 million.
At the time of the sale Finsia’s five postgraduate courses in Applied Finance and Investment and Financial Planning had 6,480 students enrolled in over 14,500 subjects. There were almost 3,000 students and 5,300 subject enrolments in six vocational education courses. In addition, there were almost 13,000 enrolments in compliance programs. Over 1,000 practitioners were involved in the delivery of the education programs as Task Force members, content and assessment authors, seminar leaders, helpline and discussion forum facilitators, lecturers, and markers.
At the time of the sale the then President, Mr Michael Shepherd SF Fin, said the sale “crystallises fair value for Finsia’s investment in its education business to enable us to develop and provide a wider range of services for members.
“At the same time, it ensures that the quality education business we have created will continue to be developed by a well-resourced, internationally recognised tertiary education specialist in Kaplan.”
For more information
Page last updated: Thursday, 15 May 2008