Master of IT in Business - School of Information Systems - Singapore ...

EXCEL in
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
T&O Master of
IT in Business
(Financial Services)
SMUMASTERS
School of
Information Systems

Contents
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Dean’s Message
Programme Overview
Board of advisors
Programme Structure
Course Description
Learning Experience
Application
Scholarships & Awards
Our Distinguished Faculty Members
Frequently Asked Questions
SMUMASTERS
Master of
IT in Business
(Financial Services)
Dean’s Message
Modern Banking is digital. The creation, fulfilment and
management of banking products and services depend on
managing digital data. Professionals who manage the
information, systems and software applications, together
with the closely coupled operations and business processes,
are as crucial to banking and financial markets as the
professionals with expertise in economics, finance and
financial product sales.
Banking and Financial Services sector organisations recognise
that the ability to continuously enhance the unification
of the business with the enabling technology, systems and
operational processes is an essential prerequisite for
adaptability, sustainability and growth.
Responding to the market and business environment, most
major global and regional banks have already unified their
various Technology Groups and Operations Groups under a
common senior executive. This head of Technology and
Operations is responsible for a significant share of the
bank’s employment, capital investment and overall
business performance.
Responding to the industry’s need, SMU’s School of
Information Systems launched the world’s first
Masters degree totally focused on developing
and expanding a pool of qualified professionals
for Technology and Operations (T&O) organisations
within the Banking and broader Financial
Service sector. Our Master of IT in Business (Financial
Services), or MITB (FS), programme, admitted its pioneer
intake in 2007. 1
The T&O organisations of the global and regional banks
in Asia have responded very positively to our programme.
They hire our students, and use our programme to develop
their own people. These organisations also participate in
our course design, provide and co-supervise our capstone
projects, and provide experts and executives who serve as
adjunct faculty. Prominent people from Banking T&O groups
and from the supporting technology vendor community
frequently visit us and provide guest lecturers who present
current real-world examples.
Our deep working relationships with the industry go beyond
our linkages with the T&O groups of the leading banking
and financial markets organisations. We also have strong
relationships with government agencies that regulate the
industry, and with technology and consultancy providers
who enable and support industry innovation initiatives.
Our MITB (FS) network of alumni, professional colleagues
and friends is strong, vibrant, and rapidly expanding. Our
specific MITB (FS) networks, combined with SMU’s existing
and exceptionally strong career services networks across the
financial service sector, greatly enhance the career
opportunities of our graduates.
In recent intakes, more than half of our students have
come from countries outside Singapore, adding to the
international perspective of our student body. Our strong
partnerships with The Asian Banker and with the
Financial InnovationTechnology Events Club (FITE Club)
further enhance the opportunities for our students to gain
cutting edge experience and to expand professional networks
across the region. For example, MITB (FS) faculty and
students are integrally involved in the evaluation and judging
of The Asian Banker’s Technology Implementation Awards
presented at the yearly Asian Banker Summit. And FITE
Club regularly holds its Singapore gatherings at the SMU
School of Information Systems.
The MITB (FS) is distinctive, value enhancing, intimate
in scale, intellectually rigorous, innovative in terms of
teaching and learning, globally oriented, culturally diverse,
and exceptionally well connected. Together, these elements
provide the foundation for a superior learning and
professional development experience that provides the
knowledge, problem solving skills, mindset and professional
networking necessary to achieve success as a T&O
professional and senior manager in the global financial
services marketplace.
I invite you to explore the exciting environment of our SMU
Master of IT in Business (Financial Services) programme.
We will change the way you learn, think, communicate and
collaborate. For those already in T&O-related professional
careers in the industry, we will prepare you to assume more
responsibility and to take on more new leadership
challenges. For those working in other industries looking to
transition into the sector, this is the best way you can
find to make that transition.
Best regards,
Steven MILLER
Dean, School of Information Systems,
Professor of Information Systems (Practice)
1 T & O leaders from all of the global and regional banks we have worked with tell us that
they have never seen a full Masters programme with the same focus and depth as our MITB
(Financial Services) programme. Also, in our efforts to scan the global landscape of related
programmes, we have not come across the same type of programme. We welcome any references
to similar types of Masters programmes anywhere in the world.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 1

Programme overview
About MITB (Financial Services)
The Master of IT in Business (Financial
Services) is an intensive programme designed
to train students in processes, operations,
technology solutions and innovation strategies
in the Banking and Financial Services sector.
The programme is a result of a close
collaboration with over 60 industry experts
from end user companies, consultancy firms,
solution providers, government agencies
and academia.
Why Focus on the
Financial Services Sector?
The Financial services industry is a large, important,
and rapidly growing sector in Singapore as well
as in Asia.
Significant numbers of local, regional and international
banks and financial institutions continue to locate major
Technology and Operations groups in Singapore.
The Singapore Management University is well known
and highly respected by companies in the Financial
Services industry.
The SMU School of Information Systems (SIS) has
eastablished strong working relationships with T&O
executives in all local banks, and with most international
banks and financial institutions based in Singapore.
Banks and other Financial Service institutions spend
more money on IT than any other non-government sector.
“an intensive IT Masters
programme tailored to
groom world-class
professionals connecting
with emerging trends
and employers”
2 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
Building A Solid Foundation for
Banking-Related T&O Excellence
The MITB (FS) programme gives students
comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of business
methods and management concepts required in assuming
senior levels of responsibility in Technology & Operations
projects across all banking segments — corporate,
investment, private and retail. The wealth of insight
accessible to MITB (FS) students is developed through
the Unified Banking Process Framework (UBPF). Jointly
developed by SMU School of Information Systems and
banking and technology experts, the UBPF provides a
systematic way of understanding and analysing
linkages across banking products, enabling processes,
technology solutions and management supervision.
Our courses progressively leverage on this system to make
the students’ learning experience more compelling. The
MITB (FS) Programme began in 2007 with an inaugural
batch of part-time students. In 2008, the fulltime option
was launched, giving students the option of completing
the Programme intensively in one year. The intermixing of
part-time and full-time students has resulted in a
more dynamic educational environment.
T&O Surround All Banking Business Functions
The MITB (FS) programme is hinged on clearly defined
key learning outcomes, with relevance and applicability
of our courses on high priority. Courses are constantly
reviewed and fine-tuned based on feedback from our
students, our Board of Advisors and industry
specialists. Students are also provided with opportunities
to intimately interact with the industry. Through Capstone
Projects undertaken with industry sponsors, they are
able to obtain and exchange viewpoints with industry
experts. Capstone Projects cover topics such as operation
of risk management groups in banks, risk management
concepts, IT governance, core banking architecture, IT
solutions for private banking, the global SWIFT network,
straight-through processing, banking processes
improvement case studies, process benchmarking and
performance measurement, six sigma in banks and
large-scale business transformation of an entire banking
enterprise. To date, more than 30 Industry Seminars have
been conducted and students can look forward to more.
A Training Ground for Future Leaders
The MITB (FS) Programme breaks new ground within
the context of the SMU-Banking Industry Technology
& Operations Initiative. Being the world’s premier
programme of our specialisation, we provide the right
platform for professional students aspiring to be industry
leaders capable of merging the power of technology with
their respective organisation’s operational capabilities.
Programme overview
Process
Unified Banking Process Framework Model
REGULATORY BODIES
Customers / Market Participants (internal,external)
BANK
1 Banking Business Segment:
Customers, Products & Services for Investment, Corporate, Private, Retail Banking
2 Product & Process
Lifecycle View:
Knowledge of end-to-end
process life cycle based
on specific banking
products.
Banking institutions, along with other segments of the
financial services industry, continue to face pressure for
massive transformation sparked by the regional and global
financial crisis. The ability to transform successfully rests
on the Technology & Operations side of the business,
which must be ready to step up to the task.
However, while banks have been documenting their
processes and operations for years, they have not
attempted to do so in a systematic, integrated and
usable fashion to meet education and training needs,
as well as real-time, problem solving and collaboration
needs for current and future Technology & Operations
professionals across the global industry.
Unified Banking Process Framework
To bridge this gap, the SMU-School of Information
Systems (SIS) has taken the lead to develop the Unified
Banking Process Framework (UBPF) in collaboration with
the banking industry and technology experts. The UBPF
is a systematic way to understand and analyse linkages
across banking products, enabling processes, technology
solutions and management supervision.
As illustrated above, the UBPF provides coherent
views organised in three broad areas of:
(i) Processes, Operations &Technology
(ii) Technology & Operations Management and
(iii) Change Scenarios & Collaboration.
3 Bank Management
Functions & Processes View:
Middle Office services
supporting the life cycle.
. Compliance . Risk Management
Product Control Accounting
. .
5 Software Systems
6 Channel Delivery & Channel Infrastructure View
7 Enterprise Architecture & Integration View
8 Organisation and Sourcing View
9 Process Performance View
10 Total Cost of Process Execution View
11 Change Scenario & Impact Tracing View
The 11 views of the UBPF are used to understand linkages and flows
across banking processes, data, technology and operations
4 Data Lifecycle View:
Data used to implement
business products,
processes, rules
& analytics
Unified Banking
Process Framework
Model
The 11 views of the UBPF
are used to understand
linkages and flows
across banking processes,
data, technology
and operations
Students whose work focuses mainly on “processes,
operations and technology” may find the UBPF Views 2,
3, 4 and 5 most relevant to them. Similarly, those who
manage IT transformation projects may find the UBPF
Views 6,7,8,9 and 10 more central to their area/focus of
work. For senior management, they may be more keen
on the UBPF Views 9, 10 and 11.
The UBPF provides a solid foundation for our curriculum
and our courses are designed to take full advantage of it.
In addition to the MITB programme, other groups in the
financial services industry who may use the UBPF as a
collaboration and training model/framework include but
certainly are not limited to:
. T&O Project Managers . Consulting professional staff in conducting
business engagements
. Bank IT staff orientation and induction
The UBPF is acknowledged by many of the leading
global banks operating in Singapore as the world’s most
comprehensive, university-based, open-knowledge effort
to systematise and visualise banking processes and
enabling information technology knowledge. We welcome
suggestions and contributions from the industry to further
evolve the UBPF content and examples so that it stays
relevant to your business and applications.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 3

SIS Board of Advisors
FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES, TECHNOLOGY & OPERATIONS
These members provide guidance and
supervision for all SIS educational efforts in
the area of financial services technology &
operations, with the emphasis on our MITB
(Financial Services) programme.
Andrew BUTCHER
Managing Director
Regional Head of Operations & Technology
Citi Asia Pacific
David GLEDHILL
Managing Director
Head, Group Technology & Operations
DBS Bank Group
TENG Soon Lang
Executive Vice President,
Head, Group Quality & Service Excellence
OCBC Bank Group
Susan HWEE
Executive Vice President
Head, Group Technology & Operations
& Chief Information Officer
United Overseas Bank Group
4 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
Simon McNAMARA
Head, Technology & Operations
& Chief Information Officer
Global Customer Banking Group
Standard Chartered Bank
Venky KRISHNAKUMAR
Chairman
Oracle Financial Services Software Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Matthew QUINLAN
Global Chief Technology Officer
Visa International
Jan VERPLANCKE
Global Head
Technology & Operations Group
& Chief Information Officer
Standard Chartered Bank
Programme Structure
The Master of IT in Business
(Financial Services) is an intensive
programme with 2 options for
completion: Full-time and Part-time.
Each year, there is only 1 intake at the
beginning of SMU’s Term 1 in mid-August.
Candidates are to complete 11 courses plus
1 capstone project (equivalent to 2 course
units). Classes will be conducted on
weekday evenings (7.00pm to 10.15pm)
and/or Saturdays (9.00am to 12.15pm
and/or 2.00pm to 5.15pm). In addition, a
weekday evening workshop is conducted
once a month where industry experts
share their insights.
Programme Curriculum
A. Banking Processes, IT & Architecture
(A.1 is compulsory; select 4 other courses)
A.1 Banking Products & Processes
A.2 Retail Banking Technology: Processes,
IT & Architecture
A.3 Corporate & Institutional Banking Technology:
Processes, IT & Architecture
A.4 Financial Markets Technology:
Processes, IT & Architecture
A.5 Lifecycle Implementation of Banking Products
A.6 FS Operational Risk: Foundation & Framework
A.7 FS Operational Risk: Data, Information,
System & Architecture
B. Service Sector Processes, Analytics & IT
From the MITB (Service Sector Analytics) track.
Please see the MITB (SSA) website or brochure
for Series B courses
C. IT and Project Management - 4 courses
(C.2 is compulsory)
C.1 IT Governance & Innovation Management
C.2 Spreadsheet Modelling for
Technology & Operations Decisions
C.3 IT Project & Vendor Management
C.4 Global Sourcing of Technology & Processes
D. General Management - 3 courses
(D.1 is compulsory)
D.1 Accounting for Technology & Operations Managers
D.2 Strategy & Organisation
D.3 Finance for Technology & Operations Managers
E. Capstone Project - equivalent to 2 courses
E.1 Project . Project definition, development and critique workshops
. Industry expert seminars and company site visits
E.2 Project Delivery
For more in-depth information of the Courses,
visit: www.sis.smu.edu.sg/programme/masters_FS
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 5

Course Description
A
Banking Processes,
IT & Architecture
Banking Products & Processes
Technology & Operations professionals need to
understand banking products, control requirements,
and customers’ and management’s needs in order to
design the processes and systems that translate to
superior delivery through various channels and media.
Students will learn to view selected retail and wholesale
banking products and services from this perspective.
Three aspects distinguish our approach from more
commonly found treatments of banking product
overviews.
• Definition and analysis of products in the context of our
Unified Banking Process Framework. Specific examples
are linked to an overarching conceptual framework,
providing a consistent approach to understanding
products and processes across all segments of banking.
• Strong process and data orientation. We look at a
product in terms of how it flows from end to end
through the bank and the larger financial system,
and in terms of data generation and data management
associated with the product.
• Emphasis on how processes and data associated with a
product relate to external customers’ and internal management’s
needs. The course introduces As-Is and To-Be
analyses of banking processes, and
provides the required foundation for the other Banking
Processes, IT & Architecture electives.
Retail Banking Technology:
Processes, IT & Architecture
The course covers selected retail banking solutions
spanning the front to the back office. These include core
banking, branch platform and delivery channels including
ATM, internet, and mobile banking. The design and flow
of different types of consumer payment systems – check,
debit, credit and stored value facilities – are addressed.
The course also covers customer analytics, security and
retail banking technology trends. Students will gain
indepth knowledge of system and application
architecture through lectures, walk-throughs and
demonstrations provided by vendors.
This course does not involve code development
and low-level implementation.
6 Master of IT in Business (financial services)nt
Corporate & Institutional Banking Technology:
Processes, IT & Architecture
This course explores corporate and institutional banking
(C&IB) solutions and architecture. It begins by reviewing
core principles of solution development including systems
architecture and business process management.
These considerations are then examined in different C&IB
business contexts. Specifically, the product areas of cash
management, trade finance, corporate treasury, &
derivatives are covered. The latter part of the course
examines other types of C&IB solutions, such as customer
relationship management, channels, & risk management.
The course involves analysing real-world situations using
case studies and gaining hands-on experience with
banking systems.
Financial Markets Technology:
Processes, IT & Architecture
This course reviews the technology architectures and
solutions that support financial market transactions.
The product lifecycle and trading flows for equities,
bonds, foreign exchange, futures, and other derivatives
are compared. Likewise, the function of and interactions
between core trading systems – market data, order
routing, position management, clearing and settlement,
and risk management – are also analysed.
The course provides hand-on exercises with trading
system technology. It also explores the design of
event-driven architectures and high-performance
systems among other issues.
Lifecycle Implementation of Banking Products
All banking products go through the lifecycle stages of
(i) product design & set up, (ii) customer engagement,
(iii) customer order acquisition, (iv) transaction fulfilment,
(v) maintenance, (vi) reviews, and (vii) product wind-down
& phase out.
In the other Banking Processes, IT & Architecture
courses, the focus is on various aspects of product
execution ranging from (ii) customer engagement through
to (vi) product and customer reviews. This course focuses
on the complete lifecycle of a banking product,
emphasising the design & set up tasks required for product
creation, and the product winddown & phase
out tasks that are part of product retirement.
The nature and complexity of processes and requirements
for product creation and product retirement can be quite
different, depending on the particulars of the type of
product and customer involved. To give students an
overview of this landscape, examples across retail
banking, wealth management, corporate & institutional
banking, and capital markets are examined.
Course Description
FS Operational Risk: Foundation & Framework
Operational risk arises from a financial institution’s
business functions and from the practical implementation
of the management’s strategy. It can be defined as the
risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal
processes, people, systems and management or from
external events.
This course reviews the sources of operational risk in the
financial services industry and the best practices in
managing risk at source level. In addition, it enables
students to develop and maintain the operational risk
management framework, policies and standards, with
emphasis on how to devise and update a framework
based on key elements like governance, policies,
processes and procedures.
Students will learn to develop, implement and maintain
methodologies and tools, and create and sustain
awareness of operational risk management throughout
an institution. The course also covers the relevant
legislations, regulations and codes of practice.
FS Operational Risk:
Data, Information, System & Architecture
No risk framework is designed to eliminate risk per se
but, rather, to contain it within acceptable levels as
determined by senior management. It is vital that a
bank’s management promptly accesses the information,
tools and answers it needs to make informed decisions
and fulfil its fiduciary duties.
This course examines the information needed in
managing operational risk on a bank-wide basis.
It focuses on the components of risk infrastructure
needed to enable banks to systematically collect,
manage and distribute real-time risk content.
The course looks into the data, the models that transform
the data into information, and the knowledge needed to
interpret and translate information into action.
The course will challenge students to think Risk-Oriented
Architecture that integrates data, models, processes
and solutions.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 7

Course Description
C
IT & Project Management
IT Governance & Innovation Management
The first part of the course covers issues related to IT
governance including IT portfolio and capability
management and related risks. It discusses the five key
questions that are central to good IT governance and
introduces the students to best practices from leading
organisations. This part also explains the principles
behind and maturity levels for IT Portfolio Management,
and takes students through a step-by-step process of
constructing an IT Portfolio.
The second part covers Innovation Management. Students
study different innovation models and apply them to
identify new innovation opportunities. Product and
Service Innovations are discussed in depth.
Spreadsheet Modeling for Technology
& Operations Decisions
Managers need to quickly make important decisions
related to managing IT investments, assets, operations
and projects. Understanding how to analyse data and
trade-offs between alternatives are difficult to do without
a good model and tool.
This course focuses on using Microsoft Excel as a
spreadsheet tool to build such decision models and to
do business analyses. Students will be able to analyse
trade-offs and understand the sensitivity impact of
uncertainties and risks. The course emphasises developing
the art of modeling—rather than just learning about the
available models—in the context of managing IT resources
and operations.
8 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
IT Project & Vendor Management
IT projects never go according to plan and project
managers must exercise good judgment and effective
management skill to ensure success.
The course is an immersion to best practices as promoted
by Project Management Institute (PMI) and documented
in “A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge” (PMBOK® Guide). Students will learn the
many decisions and trade-offs that project managers
make daily—managing schedules, team dynamics,
quality issues, cost overruns, among others.
Case studies of real-world IT projects, computer-based
simulation games and role playing negotiation exercises
will be used in class to help students practise managing
conflicts, responding to unexpected project problems
and negotiating win-win contract agreements between a
client and a vendor.
The course will also be helpful in letting students develop
effective vendor management skills—determining when
to use or how to select a vendor—to achieve the most
desirable results.
Global Sourcing of Technology & Processes
Standardised business processes, advances in
information and communication technologies, and
continuous improvement of the capabilities of global IT
service providers, among other factors, have led to an
intense impetus to “strategise” IT sourcing. In this
course, students investigate how IT service enterprises
are (out/in) sourced in the financial services industry.
The course will also draw insights from relevant
examples in other industries.
The course will expose students to the core
issues involved in various sourcing strategies
(out/in/co-sourcing), the industry’s best IT sourcing
practices and the emerging governance schemes for IT
sourcing. The course also analyses the vendor’s
perspectives on managing sourcing relationships and
how they deliver low-cost and high quality services.
Students are also given the opportunity to practise
forming sourcing decisions, writing Request for Proposals
(RFPs), bidding on RFPs, designing contracts, and
similar activities.
Course Description
D
General Management
Accounting for Technology &
Operations Managers
Students are equipped with basic knowledge of
accounting basics and the ability to understand financial
statements.The course covers issues such as accrual
versus cash systems of accounting, measurement
difficulties, and timing judgment involved with assets,
liabilities, revenues and expenses, amongst others.
The course also aims to improve analytical skills through
problem solving using accounting information such as
fixed versus variable costs, and the use of this distinction
to conduct a Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis. Students
will be required to understand relevant costs for decisions
such as make versus buy and segment analysis.
The course will also introduce students to costing
systems, performance measures, cost allocation, planning
and performance budgets, and how these accounting
tools help organisations to be more effective.
Strategy & Organisation
A key aspect of strategic success is execution, without
which ideas remain only ideas and not vehicles for value
creation. The course is designed to elaborate on
execution by way of organisation, management and
change leadership.
Lectures, case studies, readings, simulations, tools
and class participation will be the primary media
to create a learning environment appropriate for
theoretical and practical understanding of strategic
analysis and leadership.
Finance for Technology & Operations Managers
The course exposes students to key financial concepts
and tools commonly used by managers in making sound
financial decisions. These include ratio analysis, time
value of money, risk-return trade-off analysis, capital
budgeting, stocks and bonds. In addition, short-term
financial management involving the management of
cash, credit and inventory will be discussed.
E
Capstone Project
The project enables students to apply and integrate the
knowledge they accumulated, giving them an opportunity
to delve deeper into one or more of the topics covered
in the courses.
Students work on the projects individually, in
collaboration with a sponsoring company and under the
supervision of a SMU-appointed advisor. In cases where
the project scope is large enough to allow for the
involvement of more than one student, two may work
on the project provided each student makes
distinct contributions.
Each student is expected to commit at least 182 hours
on the project, including meeting time with the company
and SMU advisors.
Students may be expected to work on-site at the
sponsoring company if necessary, to understand the
business domain, problem definition, and even to gain
access to systems, documents and other available
resources. The sponsoring company, at its own discretion,
may pay students a sum of money.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 9

Learning Experience
Our Students
Where do our graduates come from?
Our students come from diverse cultural and
educational backgrounds with professional
industrial experience in the areas of:
• IT Infrastructure and data centre management
• Operations
• Risk management applied to technology and operations
• Software application development
• Software project management
• Vendor management
• Enterprise systems professionals and managers
• Business process analysis and design
• Business process and IT outsourcing management
• Business intelligence and analytics
• Business technology consulting
• Database and reporting professionals
Testimony
Mr Daniel Ho
Class of 2007
10 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
Where are our graduates now?
Upon graduation our students find
employment in some of the world’s
finest corporations:
• Accenture
• Avaloq Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
• Bank Julius Baer & Co Ltd
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Barclays Capital
• Citibank
• Clearing and Payment Systems Pte Ltd
• Credit Suisse
• Deutsche Bank
• GE Money Singapore
• Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
• Noble Resources Pte Ltd
• OCBC
• Singapore Exchange Limited
• Standard Chartered Bank
• UOB
I am in the Management Associate programme of a local bank and have officially started my
tenure in January 2010. My transition from IT to Financial Services has been an exciting
journey and has been a positive move, a dream come true. The MITB (FS) Programme has
been crucial in helping me make my transition. The Capstone Project I undertook helped
me hone my leadership skills and the excellence standards of the Programme enabled me to
stand out in the rigorous professional assessment I had to face.
I’m proud to be in the pioneer batch of this Programme. It has changed my life and career
path. I wish SMU and the MITB (FS) Programme all the best in grooming new students with
great aspirations.
Learning Experience
2010
Class Profile by Education
Fees Amount
Application S$50
Registration Singapore Citizen &
Female
Permanent 12% Residents - S$400
Foreigners - S$500
Tuition* S$40,000
Male
88%
2010
MITB-FS Class Profile by Age & Gender
The Profile of a MITB (FS) Graduate
Working together with Technology & Operations
leaders in the Financial Services sector, we have
identified the core competencies required for
a T&O professional to evolve from a having a
specialist role to having a broader T&O-related
managerial role. The same competencies are
also essential for a professional working in
other industries to transit into T&O-related
responsibilities within banking and
financial markets.
1
A solid working knowledge of T&O fundamentals from an
entrepreneurial perspective, based on understanding:
A. End-to-end processes and work flows for the
main families of financial products
B. The purpose of the operations functions
supporting the product families
C. IT solutions (functionality, data management,
performance requirements, architecture) used for
front, middle & back office functions, corporate
functions, & external interactions
D. Product-Process-Operations-Technology linkages
2
Others
Ability to visualise how changes across product, process,
(Business, Commerce etc) 6%
operations and IT impact end-to-end work flow, service
Engineering
delivery and process performance, and to follow up
(Electronic, Electrical) 10%
after project execution with empirical analysis of the
IT / IS / Computer Science actual impacts.
(Computer Engineering) 84%
3
Ability to organise and communicate one’s knowledge of
T&O in terms of the SMU 11 views of the SMU Unified
Banking Process Framework.
Official Enrolment
Deadline
Age < 30 or less = 29%
Age 30 - 34 = 21%
Age 35 - 39 = 42%
Age 40 - 45 = 4%
Age > 40 or more = 4%
4
Commence Ability to execute and manage change 1 January and transformation 2011
projects through effective coordination with specialists
Close and managers across the related Technology, 31 May 2011 Operations
and Business units of the Bank.
Contact Programme 5 office for details on application after closing date.
Ability to consult and collaborate with Senior
Management from various business functions and units
of the Bank to facilitate analysis, decision making and
execution across Business, Operations and Technology
in more integrated ways.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 11

Learning Experience
Outstanding Campus Benefits and Facilities
The Singapore Management University is Singapore’s first
private university funded by the Singapore government.
Launched in 2000, the university follows the American
university system with engaging, interactive and
teamwork-oriented teaching methods.
After 5 years at Bukit Timah Road, the university moved
to its new city campus in the Bugis-Bras Basah District.
The campus spans over 4.5 hectares with open
courtyards, fluid walkways and seminar breakout rooms
that are designed to support the university’s holistic
curriculum and teaching.
Students have seamless access to the SMU Library’s
huge database of resources and secure high-speed wired
and wireless online access to lesson plans.
Other exciting services, activities and facilities include:
• Highly experienced course managers & instructors
trained to make the classes rigorous yet enjoyable
• Career counseling services
• Interest groups and student clubs
• Monthly seminars and talks by industry luminaries
• Swimming pool, gym and retail stores
• State-of-the-art online learning resources
Ideal Location and Accessibility
• Situated at the heart of the city centre
• Direct link to the Bras Basah MRT Station and
walking distance to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station
• 1 km from Singapore’s Central Business District
Close proximity to Singaporean cultural attractions:
• National Museum of Singapore
• Singapore Arts Museum
• Fort Canning Park : botanical getaway and historic fort
• Peranakan Museum : unique culture of Singapore
• Chijmes : restored chapel with commercial shops
12 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
Executives and experts from these
organisations have recently participated
in our industry seminar series:
• Bank Julius Baer & Co Ltd
• Barclays Bank PLC
• Credit Suisse
• DBS
• Deutsche Bank
• Ernst & Young Advisory Pte Ltd
• HP Software & Solutions
• IBM Financial Services
• i-flex Solutions Ltd
• Mahindra Satyam
• McGuire Asia Pte Ltd
• Merrill Lynch Global Services Pte Ltd
• Monetary Authority of Singapore
• New York University, Stern School of Business
• Nucleus Software
• Oanda Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
• OCBC
• Singapore Exchange Limited
• SWIFT
• Tata Consultancy Services
• The Asian Banker
• The Association of Banks in Singapore
• The Royal Bank of Scotland
• TIBCO Software
• UBS AG
• UOB
Application
Application Requirements
The Master of IT in Business
(Financial Services) Programme seeks
applicants with the following:
• A good Bachelor’s degree
• At least 2 years work experience
• A valid GMAT score
(GMAT Code: F8D-Z4-61)
Application Process
Online application can be done at:
http://www.sis.smu.edu.sg/
programme/Masters_FS/admission.asp
For further enquiries please contact:
Master of IT in Business (Financial Services)
Graduate Programmes Office
School of Information Systems
Singapore Management University
80 Stamford Road
Singapore 178902
tel: 6828 0939 / 6808 5108
fax: 6828 0468
Fees Amount
Application S$50
Application Deadlines
Registration Singapore Citizen & Permanent Residents - S$400
Foreigners - S$500
Application opens from January 2011 for the
Tuition* S$40,000
August 2011 intake.
Official Enrolment
Commence
Deadline
1 January 2011
Close 31 May 2011
Contact Programme office for details on application after closing date.
Programme Fees
The current fees for the programme are:
Fees Amount
Application S$50
Registration Singapore Citizen & Permanent Residents - S$400
Foreigners - S$500
Tuition* S$40,000
* Tuition fees are locked in once the student enters the programme.
The Singapore Management University reserves the right to alter tuition fees for new
incoming Official cohorts Enrolment when required
Deadline
Commence
1 January 2011
Close 31 May 2011
Contact Programme office for details on application after closing date.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 13

Scholarships & Awards
Scholarships
Finance Scholarship Programme
The Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) was
set up to facilitate the development and enhancement
of talent and other infrastructure for Singapore’s
financial centre.
The Finance Scholarship Programme (FSP) is one of
the initiatives supported by the FSDF. Its objective is to
build up a critical mass of specialists in targeted fields
that would contribute to the long-term growth of
Singapore as an international financial centre.
Applicants to the University programme may be
eligible for FSP funding support on a case-by-case basis.
Shortlisted candidates will be expected to participate in
interviews held in Singapore. Preference will be given
to candidates who are Singapore citizens or permanent
residents.Interested applicants should submit their
applications to the FSDF Secretariat directly, at least nine
months before the commencement of the postgraduate
programme. Please contact the FSF Secretariat at
fsdf@mas.gov.sg for more details.
Application forms available at www.mas.gov.sg
MITB Scholarship
The MITB Scholarship, offered by the MITB Programme,
aims at encouraging outstanding students to
pursue the Master of IT in Business (Financial Services)
Programme, to achieve academic excellence in banking
products, processes, operations and technology.
Up to four scholarships will be awarded every year,
each between S$5,000 to S$10,000.
SAS Scholarship
The SAS Scholarship, established by SAS Institute Pte
Ltd, aims at encouraging outstanding students in the
Master of IT in Business (Financial Services) programme
to achieve academic excellence in their studies,
particularly in the learning of business intelligence
technology and applications. Each Scholarship award
is valued at S$10,000.
14 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
Outstanding Student Awards
• For each graduation batch, the programme will present
2 outstanding student awards of at least S$3,000
• Recipients will be determined purely based on merit,
using the results of the first 4 terms and first 2 terms for
part-time students and full-time students respectively
• Must not be a recipient of other scholarship,
sponsorship or award
Study Loans are available from:
• Citibank
• Maybank
• POSB
• RHB Bank
• OCBC Bank
Distinguished Faculty Members
The programme is delivered by well qualified
& experienced faculty members & industry
professionals. Our faculty members have
PhDs from top Universities around the world
& have cultivated outstanding pedagogical
delivery methods over the years.
The industry professionals who form part
of our adjunct faculty members team are
experienced bankers & IT professionals who
have extensive experience with banks and
banking solution providers.
T&O managers are faced with a multitude of
challenges including:
cost pressure, need for tighter control, more
stringent compliance, product complexity and
managing uncertainty. MITB(FS) aims at
helping these professionals navigate through the
T&O dilemma by providing them with a framework
for creating confidence, certainty and efficiency.
Enoch CHNG
• Senior Lecturer and Director,
Master of IT in Business (Financial Services)
School of Information Systems
MSc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Director of AsiaMetrics Pte Ltd
• Director of Assetia Capital Management Pte Ltd
• Former Managing Director of DBS Bank Ltd
(2007-2008)
• Former Executive Director of the Specialist Risk
Department (SRD) in the MAS (1998 – 2006)
• Former Vice President UBS Singapore, Director of
UBS (Futures) Pte Ltd and Alternate Director,
UBS Data Systems Pte Ltd (1988 – 1998)
Chris BOESCH
• Associate Professor of Information Systems (Practice)
School of Information Systems
PhD, Nova Southeastern University, 2004
• Former Regional Director Software Engineering, Dell Inc.
• Specialising in Cloud Computing and Platform and
Infrastructure as a service
Michelle CHEONG Lee Fong
• Associate Professor of Information Systems (Practice)
School of Information Systems
PhD, Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore-MIT Alliance, 2005
• Director, SIS Masters and Professional Programmes
• Specialises in service delivery network design and operations
Adel F. DIMIAN
• Associate Professor of Management (Practice)
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
PhD, University of North Dakota, 1988
• Former technology/operation/innovation executive at 3M
Venky GOVINDARAJAN
• Adjunct Faculty
School of Information Systems
MSc in Business Administration
• Head of Technology Strategy and Architecture (Asia
Pacific) for Global Wealth Management Technology,
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Former Head of Technology Architecture for Wholesale
Banking, Standard Chartered Bank (2000 – 2009)
• Former Head of QA & Architecture for Asia Pacific for
the Equities business, Societe Generale (until 2000)
Randall E. DURAN
• Adjunct Faculty
School of Information Systems
MSc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Chief Executive Officer of Catena Technologies Pte Ltd
• Former Vice President of Enterprise Solutions,
Reuters PLC (2000 – 2001)
• Former General Manager (SEA), Director of Technical
Consulting (AP), Managing Consultant, Senior Manager,
TIBCO Inc., Singapore, London, USA (1991 – 1999)
KAM Tin Seong
• Associate Professor of Information Systems (Practice)
School of Information Systems
PhD, University of London, 1995
• Faculty Head, SMU-SAS Enterprise Intelligence Lab
• Specialises in business analytics and GIS applications
including banking
KHOO Teng Aun
• Associate Professor of Accounting
School of Accountancy
Master of Economics, Macquarie Univerisity, 1989
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 15

Distinguished Faculty Members
KHOO Teng Aun
• Associate Professor of Accounting
School of Accountancy
Master of Economics, Macquarie Univerisity, 1989
• Specialises in managerial and financial accounting,
reporting and audit
Sandeep LAL
• Adjunct Faculty
School of Information Systems
MBA, University of Michigan
• Managing Director, Head of Consumer Banking,
Internet Banking, DBS Bank
• Former Senior VP and Head of Customer Service and
Operations, PayPal (2000 – 2008)
• Former VP and Regional Head Ops & Tech and various
Operations Head, Citibank, New York, Japan
and India (1983 – 2000)
LAM Wei Choong
• Adjunct Faculty
School of Information Systems
BSc, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
• Managing Principal of Veros Consulting
• Former Regional Managing Partner ASEAN/South Asia,
(IBM Global Business Services, Financial Sector Lead)
Joseph LIM
• Associate Professor of Finance (Practice)
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
PhD, New York University, 1989
• Specialises in applied financial and investment analysis
Steven MILLER
• Professor of Information Systems (Practice)
Dean, School of Information Systems
Steering Committee Co-Chair, Living Analytics Research Centre
PhD, Carnegie Mellon University, 1983
• Lead architect, Unified Banking Process Framework
Desai NARASIMHALU
• Professor of Information Systems (Practice)
School of Information Systems PhD, University of Hawaii 1983
• Director, Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, SMU
• Specialises in innovation strategy and practice,
and entrepreneurship
16 Master of IT in Business (financial services)
NG Peng Khim
• Adjunct Faculty
School of Information Systems
Post-graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis – ISS,
National University of Singapore (1987 – 1988)
Bachelor of Surveying – University of Melbourne (1982 –1985)
• Managing Director, Head of Regional Technology for Institutional
Banking / Finance / Risk, DBS Bank (2009 – present)
• Former Managing Director, Head of Regional Technology
for institutional Banking, Citigroup (1994 – 2008)
• Former Project Manager, Singapore Housing
Development Board (HDB) Technology (1987 – 1994)
Narayan RAMASUBBU
• Assistant Professor of Information Systems
School of Information Systems
PhD, University of Michigan, 2005
• Specialises in globally distributed software
delivery systems
Venky SHANKARARAMAN
• Associate Professor of Information Systems (Education)
School of Information Systems
PhD, University of Strathclyde, 1992
• Associate Dean, Education
• Specialises in enterprise integration &
business process management
TAN Yew Seng
• Adjunct Faculty
School of Information Systems
MBA, National University of Singapore
• Executive Director & Consultant Partner of Corporate
Brokers International Private Limited
• Former Vice President, Institutional and
Retail Banking, Citibank
Sajeeve THOMAS
• Adjunct Professor
School of Information Systems
MBA, Indian Institute of Management
• Former Chief of Staff, Senior Managing Executive
Officer, Head of Retail Banking, Shinsei Bank Ltd,
Japan (2000 – 2006)
• Former Country Treasurer & Head of Capital Markets,
Citibank, New York, Japan and India (1975 – 2000)
Frequently Asked Questions
I do not have an IT- or Business-related
Bachelor Degree. Can I still apply for the
MITB (FS) Programme?
Yes, applicants with a keen interest may apply to the
Programme. Generally, we take into consideration the
candidate’s work experience, aptitude and previous
academic prowess when doing our candidate assessment.
With more than 10 years of work experience,
can I be exempted from taking the GMAT?
All Masters programmes at Singapore Management
University require GMAT as an admission requirement.
As applicants come from different Universities around
the world, GMAT is one of the standard methods most
Universities will use as an entry assessment indicator.
If you have been working for many years, GMAT is a
good launching pad to get you into the momentum
for studies.
What is the minimum GMAT score I need to attain?
GMAT score is only one indicator of the candidate’s
ability as we take into consideration other positive
attributes to determine the admission decision.
The best advice we can provide to prospective
applicants is to put in sufficient time and effort,
and to do justice to the rather expensive GMAT test.
How do I apply for the MITB scholarship?
All admitted students will be assessed based on the
eligibility criteria available on our website and on
Page 14 of this brochure.
Am I able to gain any course exemptions if I had
previously done a course similar to that in the
MITB programme?
Exemptions are permitted only for the General
Management courses. Request for course exemptions
will be subject to case-by-case review. Applicants must
have completed a similar course in the recent past,
have obtained reasonably good results, and the topics
covered must be similar.
Applicants will need to provide a copy of their academic
transcripts as well as the complete course information.
Each exempted course is to be replaced with another
available course, from either Financial Services or
Service Sector tracks.
Will I be able to switch to part-time mode of study
at a later stage if I choose to study full-time now
(and vice versa)?
Yes, that is possible.
Please inform the MITB Programme Office in writing,
stating your reason for the change, and obtain approval
from the Programme Director. However, please note that
you can only shift your mode of study once.
What happens if I am required to travel overseas
for work or due to special reasons, I am unable to
attend class for an extended period?
Students who are unable to attend class for an extended
period of a few weeks due to work travel plans or other
special reasons may apply for Leave of Absence (LOA) in
advance. LOA may be applied for a mini-term (7 weeks)
or the entire Term (15 weeks). As students on LOA
will be required to take the course they had missed at
its next offering, the implications would be that they
may like to take up more than one course per mini-term
in order to graduate with their cohort or extend
the candidature.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 17

SMUMASTERS
Master of
IT in Business
(FINANCIAL SERVICES)
School of Information Systems
Singapore Management University
80 Stamford Road
Singapore 178902
tel +65 6828 0939 / +65 6808 5108
fax +65 6828 0468
email sis_masters@smu.edu.sg
All information is correct as of February 2011
EXCEL in
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
T&O Master of
IT in Business
(Financial Services)
SMUMASTERS
School of
Information Systems

Contents
1
2
4
5
6
10
13
14
15
17
Dean’s Message
Programme Overview
Board of advisors
Programme Structure
Course Description
Learning Experience
Application
Scholarships & Awards
Our Distinguished Faculty Members
Frequently Asked Questions
SMUMASTERS
Master of
IT in Business
(Financial Services)
Frequently Asked Questions
I do not have an IT- or Business-related
Bachelor Degree. Can I still apply for the
MITB (FS) Programme?
Yes, applicants with a keen interest may apply to the
Programme. Generally, we take into consideration the
candidate’s work experience, aptitude and previous
academic prowess when doing our candidate assessment.
With more than 10 years of work experience,
can I be exempted from taking the GMAT?
All Masters programmes at Singapore Management
University require GMAT as an admission requirement.
As applicants come from different Universities around
the world, GMAT is one of the standard methods most
Universities will use as an entry assessment indicator.
If you have been working for many years, GMAT is a
good launching pad to get you into the momentum
for studies.
What is the minimum GMAT score I need to attain?
GMAT score is only one indicator of the candidate’s
ability as we take into consideration other positive
attributes to determine the admission decision.
The best advice we can provide to prospective
applicants is to put in sufficient time and effort,
and to do justice to the rather expensive GMAT test.
How do I apply for the MITB scholarship?
All admitted students will be assessed based on the
eligibility criteria available on our website and on
Page 14 of this brochure.
Am I able to gain any course exemptions if I had
previously done a course similar to that in the
MITB programme?
Exemptions are permitted only for the General
Management courses. Request for course exemptions
will be subject to case-by-case review. Applicants must
have completed a similar course in the recent past,
have obtained reasonably good results, and the topics
covered must be similar.
Applicants will need to provide a copy of their academic
transcripts as well as the complete course information.
Each exempted course is to be replaced with another
available course, from either Financial Services or
Service Sector tracks.
Will I be able to switch to part-time mode of study
at a later stage if I choose to study full-time now
(and vice versa)?
Yes, that is possible.
Please inform the MITB Programme Office in writing,
stating your reason for the change, and obtain approval
from the Programme Director. However, please note that
you can only shift your mode of study once.
What happens if I am required to travel overseas
for work or due to special reasons, I am unable to
attend class for an extended period?
Students who are unable to attend class for an extended
period of a few weeks due to work travel plans or other
special reasons may apply for Leave of Absence (LOA) in
advance. LOA may be applied for a mini-term (7 weeks)
or the entire Term (15 weeks). As students on LOA
will be required to take the course they had missed at
its next offering, the implications would be that they
may like to take up more than one course per mini-term
in order to graduate with their cohort or extend
the candidature.
Master of IT in Business (financial services) 17