UOB rolls out tertiary education programme for small biz bankers

For helping small businesses expand.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) has partnered with the Singapore Management University (SMU) to launch the finance industry’s first tertiary education programme designed for small business bankers.

According to a release from UOB, as Singapore’s small businesses expand into new markets, they may face challenges such as international trade risk, complex customs regulations or having access to increased working capital.

Taking into account these difficulties, the UOB-SMU Banker’s Executive Certificate programme will impart specialist skills and knowledge necessary for bankers to meet the expansion demands of small businesses.

The course combines classroom-based study in the areas of credit and risk management, trade financing and regional regulatory frameworks with practical skills training.

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Small businesses form the backbone of Singapore’s economy, accounting for 99 per cent of local enterprises. Of the 28,000 local businesses that expanded overseas in 2014, more than 80 per cent were small-to-medium enterprises.

According to Mr Victor Lee, Managing Director and Head of Business Banking, UOB Group, many small businesses are looking at overseas markets to fuel their growth and UOB is committed to helping its customers expand successfully and meet their growth ambitions.

“We expect a greater number of our small business customers to expand overseas in the next three years and as a result, their banking and business needs are changing.

Small businesses need bankers with specialist skills who understand what it takes to do business across borders, whether it is in managing foreign exchange risk or navigating the regulatory landscape in different markets.

This is why the UOB-SMU Banker’s Executive Certificate programme is timely, important and progressive as graduates will develop the skills necessary for the future.”

The UOB-SMU Banker’s Executive Certificate is part of UOB’s career development programme to encourage continuous training and skills development among its employees.

The Bank expects to train 120 small business bankers by the end of this year. In Singapore, approximately one out of every two small businesses banks with UOB. These customers are mainly from the commerce, services and manufacturing industries.