OREANDA-NEWS.  April 25, 2013. In recent years, ICBC has put in own training programs to build up a pool of financial talents in a bid to drive growth and improve customer services. As of today, over 10,000 ICBC employees have participated in training programs for senior financial executives. Out of them, 8,340+ have passed the international certification examinations, the highest number among all banks in China. The Financial Risk Manager (FRM) in particular, ICBC has the highest number of FRM certificate holders among all financial institutions in the world.

According to an ICBC official, besides staff training in management, technical field, business and job rotation, ICBC has drawn up a plan since 2007 to create its own talent pool and ensure a flow of skilled personnel for business development.

The plan involves 19 international certification programs including Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), covering risk management, financial investment, asset management, corporate finance, personal wealth management, finance and leasing, financial and accounting, information technology, internal control and audit. ICBC has 1,815 Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) or 54% of all CTP in Mainland China. Besides, 40% of Members of Appraisal Institute (MAI) and 3795 Chartered Financial Planner (CFP) or 23% of CFP in Mainland China are working in ICBC. They represent an intelligent workforce to provide requisite skills and expertise for ICBC to continuously improve service and business.

On another front, ICBC has also implemented a plan for continuing professional development for financial talents, helping them apply their learning, and many of them have become key staff in the department or innovation specialist. An example, some FRM make good progress by applying what they learnt to manage ICBC's data warehouse. Their achievement has been placed first as national management innovation in risk control.