SMOWL for professional banking certification

Before the situation caused by COVID-19, the evaluation process to obtain certifications was carried out in person, following the requirements of the regulators.

Face-to-face meetings are held throughout the national territory. Students were summoned on a day at a specific time in a room to take the exam with maximum safety and comfort. They were held periodically and on an ad-hoc basis for clients who needed them.

What was the challenge?

In the wake of the pandemic due to COVID-19 and the necessary restrictions, it was impossible to carry out the certifications in person.

In this scenario, the regulators, the Bank of Spain and the CNMV, of the LCCI and MiFID II certifications, respectively, made possible what had not been available so far, the ability to perform the certification exams in a non-face-to-face format.

To achieve this, they established security and control standards to ensure that the certification exams were conducted with the maximum possible guarantees as if it was face-to-face exam. This meant implementing the necessary technology to verify the student’s identity and ensuring that the student did not receive external assistance.

They found the solution in SMOWL

SMOWL allowed them to simulate the same reliability and security features of an on-site exam.

Cecabank chose the SMOWL+ service

SMOWL is a modular solution that adapts to the needs of the client. In this case, we adjusted to meet what the regulators demanded of Cecabank’s Banking Training School.

• Monitoring of the student through the webcam.
• Tracking of student computer activity.
• Audio capture.

Some of the results obtained

• They reduced costs by avoiding renting a space and hiring staff for the traditional face-to-face evaluation and travel costs.
• They can now conduct exams in less time, offering greater flexibility and a better offer to students, making them stand out from their competitors.

Cecabank’s Banking Training School successfully launched an online certification procedure that guaranteed the completion of the certification exams in similar conditions to those face-to-face exams, allowing the employees of the entities to continue providing service according to the standards required by the regulators”.

Paz Navarro, Director of the Cecabank’s Banking Training School

That is what Cecabank EFB likes the most about SMOWL!

• It allows them to save time in preparing for the logistics of their exams.
• SMOWL is a comfortable and easy-to-use tool.
• With the SMOWL software, exams can be carried out with fewer resources and less time, making it possible to make more examinations.
• The possibility of offering more exams provides greater flexibility to its students, making Cecabank EFB a more attractive school than its competitors.

Tips from the Cecabank EFB to have a better experience with SMOWL:

1. An essential part of the effort in taking the exams has been transferred to the student registration part of the platform. It is necessary to make the student aware that he must first read the instructions to assimilate the registration steps to carry out this process successfully.
2. It works very well to outline this process so the student can see which steps have been taken and which have not.

What are students saying about SMOWL?

Cecabank surveyed its students to measure their satisfaction with using the SMOWL tool. Some of the findings were

• In general, the feedback received from students is very positive.
• The students highlight the accompaniment process as very efficient.
• Students mentioned that the process was straightforward and friendly.

At the end of the tests, the percentage of approved students was similar to the face-to-face evaluations.

Therefore, the inclusion of the SMOWL tool did not increase the complexity, nor did it represent an additional barrier in the process.

How does Cecabank see the future thanks to SMOWL?

After the experience, the online certifications evaluated with SMOWL will be maintained in the future, even when it is possible to carry out face-to-face exams, as long as the regulators allow it.

After the publication of Royal Decree 287/2021, the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds requires certification exams to be carried out, so Cecabank EFB plans to continue working with SMOWL on these exams in insurance matters.

EFB Cecabank

Cecabank’s Banking Training School is an academic institution with 50 years of experience, whose primary mission is to train professionals with high skills and social responsibility. An example of this is that, to date, more than 30,000 students have been certified with the Cecabank EFB.

During the pandemic, they maintained their commitment to training their students, searching in record time for a solution that would allow them to keep the certification processes without exposing the health of the applicants or their staff.

In this way, Cecabank confirms that it is a first-rate academic institution capable of facing any situation agile and innovatively. It is also aware of its social responsibility towards the environment.

• Best Custodian Bank in Spain 2020
• Presence in main financial markets
• +30,000 certified students in different degrees since 2017
• A reference in the market is carrying out certification processes.

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