The ifs School of Finance was founded as the Institute of Bankers in 1879 to provide qualifications for the banking industry.
In 1987 the organisation received a Royal Charter from the Privy Council. This was in recognition of their pre-eminence in the financial services industry. As a result the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB) was born.
Another milestone was reached in 1993 when the Chartered Institute of Bankers absorbed the Chartered Building Societies Institute .
This was followed shortly afterwards by a change of name to the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) to better reflect the range of activities the organisation was undertaking.
As the ifs, the organisation went from strength to strength, achieving a number of notable industry firsts. For example in 1996 the ifs became the first professional body to link its main award to a University degree (University of Manchester). In 2001 the ifs became the first educational body in the financial services industry to provide electronic assessment for its regulatory qualifications.
As the most recent mark of progress, this month the ifs School of Finance opened a new dedicated campus in the heart of the City.
Phil Hall, head of public affairs at the ifs School of Finance said, “Since 1879 our organisation has transformed from one that focused solely on the provision of banking qualifications to a business school for and about finance that spans almost every corner of the financial services industry.
“Today the ifs School of Finance offers qualifications from GCSE level in schools through to undergraduate degree programmes in partnership with the Universities of Manchester, Surrey and Kent as well as a range of Continuing Professional Development services and executive education through master classes, seminars and prestige lectures. As a result, we now have over 80,000 students in 100 different countries and are well established as a global leader in financial learning at all levels. We hope that the next 130 years prove equally successful!”
