The acquisition of Toronto based CSI Global Education Inc. by U.S. information giant Moody’s Corp. should result in new courses, credentials and certification on this side of the border.

That’s the prediction of CSI president and CEO Roberta Wilton: “We certainly have something for pretty well everyone across the financial services industry, but the one area in which we have been building strength in the past few years has been banking and credit.”

Although the country’s largest provider of professional credentials and compliance products for the financial services industry has been beefing up its risk-management offerings from the securities side of the business, having Moody’s as a parent will allow it to offer programs aimed at the core credit function at the banks. “That is what Moody’s has in spades,” says Wilton. “We certainly believe that we have more from the content side to bring to our customers in Canada.”

COMPLEMENTARY STRENGTHS

Wilton emphasizes that the strengths of each company are complementary. “They have a very powerful content library in their area of expertise, which is around credit and risk management,” she adds. “We have an opportunity to take what Moody’s has and bring it to Canada in different ways. Our specialization is in online, interactive types of learning and Moody’s is more classroom-based.”

The deal will also allow CSI to accelerate its expansion beyond its Canadian borders, Wilton notes: “We are going to be able to adopt [Moody’s] content and make it more accessible. Not just in Canada but elsewhere around the globe.” CSI does offer some classroom-based courses, but the company’s “bread and butter” is in “online, highly interactive, pragmatic training and education.”

CSI, which was acquired by Moody’s for $155 million, will continue to operate under the CSI Global Education name and will remain at its Toronto headquarters. “They have a lot to bring to us and I think, conversely, we have a lot to bring to them,” says Wilton. “What we have is a focus on the real professionalization of the industry. It is certainly very much on our minds and the focus that we have here is something that is happening on a worldwide basis, but I think we are a little farther along in Canada.”

CSI is now starting to examine the Moody’s content and figuring out what new courses and credentials it can offer in Canada, Wilton notes: “We have a lot of thinking to do. We do know that it is going to mean a real strengthened bump up for our customers here in Canada.”

Specifically, CSI is interested in Moody’s recent launch of the first global accreditation program for risk professionals, which has been officially recognized as the sole standard for education and skills in applied risk management by regulators in Britain.

AIMING FOR CERTIFICATION

“Much of what we are trying to do here is moving toward certification,” Wilton says. “So, that is something that we would like to develop — certifications and designations in credit where, frankly, there isn’t a great deal. So, Moody’s has already got a head start there. We are going to run with that one.”

Even though it is now the largest provider of financial proficiency training in the world as a result of its acquisition by Moody’s, Wilton says, CSI’s approach to teaching is what sets it apart from most competitors.

“For example, in the U.S., the average educational company is really just training somebody to pass the test,” she says. “Test prep isn’t what we do. Those organizations that are really trying to get people to learn how to be a professional are really quite rare on the world stage.”

CSI is the exclusive provider of the Canadian securities course, which serves as the base requirement for qualification as a licensed securities advisor in Canada. The company also offers more than 170 other courses across the securities, commercial banking, wealth-management and insurance disciplines. And, through partnerships with international organizations, it provides financial proficiency training in China, Europe, the Middle East, Central America and the Caribbean. IE