First cohort from the Bank of England Master's programme graduate

When June Otigba began studying a new degree, the world was in the middle of a global pandemic.

Enforced working from home amid the COVID-19 lockdowns made it “easier to study long hours without interruptions”, the head of retail banking for a commercial bank in Nigeria said.

But on the wider stage, of course, things were not so benign: COVID-19 had just brought the world economy to a shuddering halt.

A little over two years later, as fiscal clouds gather once again – soaring inflation, the fallout from the Ukraine war and so on – Ms Otigba is among the first cohort of students to graduate from Warwick’s MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation, a course especially designed to help banking professionals meet the challenges that lie ahead.

As a part-time, online course developed in collaboration with the Bank of England, the degree was always going to be ground-breaking. The programme is flexible enough for finance professionals from as far afield as Uruguay and South Africa to fit it around their busy work commitments.

Meanwhile, the delivery of the programme by world-leading academics, central bankers and regulators saw the students swotting up on a good mix of theory and practice in the seven modules and a dissertation they needed to complete.

Ms Otigba says that her studies not only increased her understanding of monetary policy and financial markets, but also exposed her to the concepts of behavioural finance and Big Data, concepts that are now, she added, "driving the future of payment solutions and digital banking products".

Ms Otigba and her fellow graduates received their degree certificates at an awards ceremony at the Butterworth Hall sitting at the heart of the University of Warwick campus.

“I’m delighted to see the first students studying on the MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation graduate from the University of Warwick,” said John Thanassoulis, Professor of Financial Economics and the Course Director.

For Professor Thanassoulis, the Bank of England partnership is key. This collaboration is helping to create “the necessary underpinnings for good financial regulation and ethical finance” around the world, he said.

Jane Cathrall, Executive Director for People & Culture at the Bank of England, also attended the graduation ceremony.

“This is a significant milestone and the result of a great collaboration between the Bank of England and Warwick Business School,” she said. “I am delighted to see that students from all over the world are benefiting from this programme, along with Bank of England staff. 

"The course equips students with the tools they need to succeed in the changing world of finance and it is fantastic to see how they are all thriving as a result of this experience.”

Find out more about MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation.