About A.E.C.S.A

AECSA is a non-profit organisation set up to investigate and categorise the educational standards of universities and professional organisations around the world.

Over the years it has investigated over 1,000 universities and professional bodies, and list all who meet its high certification standards as "approved" organisations. AECSA also lists universities and professional bodies that are of a dubious nature under headings such as "degree mills" and "non-traditional" institutions on this website.

AECSA also undertakes the ranking of universities and professional bodies by specialisation, either by itself or via the rankings published by leading educational establishments, newspapers and professional journals... More >



Professional Bodies

Professional Bodies > Banking and Finance



AECSA therefore provides a rating system of such professional bodies, based on its investigations, as follows:

Rating 1: Professional associations having strict membership criteria, including completion of state-of-the art education programs (usually at Masters Degree Level); strong recognition by employer groups; provision of substantial membership benefits and a strong mandatory continuing education development (CPD) program.

Rating 2: Professional associations having some educational requirements for membership (usually at undergraduate degree level); reasonably high recognition by employer groups; provision of good membership benefits and voluntary CPD requirements.

Rating 3: Professional associations having very open entry membership criteria, often with minimal level educational requirements (usually at trade school level or lower); a poor level recognition by employer groups; very basic membership benefits and almost no CPD requirements.



Rating 1


American Bankers Association (ABA)
Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)
Fannie Mae (FAN)
Freddie Mac (FM)
Securities Institute (SI)


Rating 2


Registered Financial Planners Institute (USA) (RPF)


Rating 3


Association of Financial Planners (UK) (AFP)
Association for Governmental Finance and Leasing (AGFL)
Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (ALHFA)
Bond Market Association (BMA)
Bond Market Association (BMA)
Council of Institutional Investors (CI)
Chartered Portfolio & Investment Manager (USA) (CPIM)
Commercial Real Estate Secondary Market and Securitization Assoc. (CSSA)
Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA)
Institute for Fiduciary Education (IFE)
Institute of Financial Services (IFS)
International Society of Financiers (ISF)
Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA)
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB)
National Assoc. of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM)
National Investment Conference (NIC)
Real Estate Capital Resources Association (RECRA)
Real Estate Finance Association (REFA)
Securities Industry Association (SIA)
Securities Industry Association (SIA)