Independence

The UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance is independent, including from the UvA, in the sense that the revenue generated by its teaching and research is not used for commercial purposes but rather to elevate the field of Financial Law and Financial Economics to a higher level. This independence is also guaranteed by means of a broadly-constituted advisory council in which not only market parties are represented but the Ministry of Finance, supervisory bodies, certifying institutions, consumer organisations and the district court of Rotterdam as well, and additionally by an independent curatorial panel to ensure the quality of professors appointed by the aforementioned foundation.

Name of the collaborative partnership

We have chosen ‘UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance’. With this name, we intend to emphasise the academic nature of the programme; the professional field (financial institutions, i.e. banks and insurers); the target group (high-level UvA) and themes to which the neutral education provider NIBE-SVV devotes its attention (banking and insurance).

Why the UvA?

The partnership between NIBE and the UvA extends as far back as the 1940s. In fact, the NIBE was originally founded as a Bankers Business School. 

The UvA has a proud, lengthy tradition and a renowned reputation, both nationally and internationally. Many professors at the UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance are also affiliated with universities abroad. Take Prof. Roger Laeven, for instance, who is also affiliated with Princeton, and Prof. Jan Bouwens, who is affiliated with Harvard as well. The UvA additionally offers the sector the possibility of introducing their own curriculum without requiring that it be embedded in the Bachelor’s-Master’s structure. Because the resulting curriculum is a co-creation of the UvA and the sector, it will enjoy a base of support not only within the university but within the professional field as well.

The decision for UvA Economics and Business

When choosing a location within the UvA, it was decided to establish the Academy in the most efficient and profitable faculty: UvA Economics and Business (EB). This faculty is looking to invest heavily in the field of Financial Law and Financial Economics; to that end, it has appointed a number of new professors, including Prof. Klaas Knot (President of DNB).

It has been agreed that the Academy for Banking and Insurance should maintain a high profile at the UvA. Lecture rooms and offices have therefore been created which will also be available for use by external PhD candidates and participants in UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance programmes.

Connection with UvA Law

The following popular and successful law postgraduate programmes will be brought together under the auspices of the UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance: the programme leading to the qualification in Certified Specialist Financial Law and the Postgraduate Continuing Education (PAO) programmes in Financial Service Providers' Duty of Care and Essentials of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft). The Law Faculty (which includes the Eggens Institute), where previous programmes from the collaborative partnership were organised, is currently working to reposition itself. As a result, a focus on the aforementioned financial law programmes is no longer appropriate. The faculty has, however, created a website for the Center for Financial Law, where information on the postgraduate legal programmes offered by the UvA Academy for Banking and Insurance is permanently available.