Ifs School of Finance - History

History

1879 - Founded as the Institute of Bankers.

1987 - Gains a Royal Charter.

1993 - Merges with the Chartered Building Societies Institute.

1996 - The BSc (Hons) in Financial Services is offered as a dual award with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. It is the first professional award to be linked to a university degree.

1997 - A new brand the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is introduced to reflect the evolving nature of banking and insurance activities to the wider financial services sector. In the same year the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) is introduced – this is the first qualification for UK mortgage professionals.

2001 - The ifs is the first educational body in the sector to provide electronic assessment for its regulatory qualifications, which now include the Certificate for Financial Advisers and the Certificate of Regulated General Insurance. Also this year, the first of the personal finance qualifications for young people in the UK is launched. The qualification, equivalent to an AS-level, is the first of its kind.

2004 - Launch of ifs KnowledgeBank, an online library and information resource.

2005 - The ifs acquires ProShare (UK) Ltd. ifs Proshare (UK) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to encouraging employee share ownership and providing workplace financial education.

2006 - Members agree proposals for changes to the organisation’s corporate governance and structure. Changes to the Royal Charter are approved by the Privy Council and the organisation is renamed the ifs School of Finance.

2010 - Granted Taught Degree-Awarding Powers (TDAP) by the Privy Council, the ifs is now able to award both undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees in its own right without ratification from a third-party university.