The Master's program in Money, Banking, Finance, and Insurance (MBFA) aims, in its first year (M1), to provide students with a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of insurance, banking, and finance. To this end, a diverse range of courses is offered, organized around complementary knowledge in the disciplines that define the specific nature of this program. Emphasis is placed on acquiring methodologies and developing a financial literacy that enables students to apply analytical tools to the realities of banking and financial practice. Furthermore, the curriculum is structured to guarantee students a minimum foundation of transferable knowledge and skills: IT, languages, knowledge of the economic and financial world, and the development, for each student, of a portfolio of knowledge, skills, and interpersonal abilities to best leverage for successful professional integration upon completion of the Master's program. Courses are largely shared between the two tracks of the Master 1 program (Initial Training (FI) and Continuing Education (FC)). To enable students enrolled in initial training to benefit from a consistent period of operational training in a company (most of whom have never done an internship before entering M1), their courses are concentrated on the period from August N to February N+1 and the (mandatory) internship takes place from March to August N+1.

The second year of the Master 2 (M2) program emphasizes the combined acquisition of solid commercial and technical skills. Its aim is to provide financial institutions with recent graduates (five years of higher education) who possess a strong financial background and are capable of quickly assuming commercial or managerial responsibilities. Job-readiness is ensured through the curriculum and teaching methods, which are designed to train highly skilled generalists who can adapt to changes in the sector while also providing them with significant specialization in specific areas based on industry needs. The program also offers a foundation of general skills in client portfolio management and development, financial expertise, portfolio development, and financial advisory services. Each specialization track then offers its own unique set of skills, designed to make students immediately operational and employable in their chosen fields upon graduation. Since its inception, the M2 program has been offered exclusively in the evenings (17 pm - 20 pm) during the week and on Saturdays, in order to accommodate working professionals returning to studies without funding and to allow non-working students to benefit from two internship periods during the year: one between September of year N and March of year N+1 (of variable duration depending on student choice), and a second mandatory internship of 6 months, from April to September of year N+1. To facilitate internships outside the department, courses and exams are concentrated within the academic year: they end no later than March of year N+1, with the exception of the thesis defense.

Educational goals :

The MBFA Master's program is professionally oriented and aims for direct and rapid entry into the workforce upon completion of the program. Students enrolled in MBFA are trained for skilled careers in banking, finance, and insurance. The program's objective is to enable students to develop expertise in the fields of money, banking, finance, and insurance by offering them both theoretical and applied perspectives across a wide range of subjects within the curriculum.

On the one hand, the MBFA curriculum consists of both theoretical courses covering the latest research in the field and practical training in the technical, commercial, and interpersonal skills required for retail banking. Students thus benefit from academic contributions from research professors, supplemented by input from professionals who are expert practitioners in the relevant field.

Furthermore, the substantial number of internships offered by the island's financial institutions to MBFA Master's students demonstrates the local need for recruitment at the Master's level (Bac+5). This need is met through actual recruitment upon graduation. Indeed, with a diploma success rate exceeding 80%, graduates enjoy excellent job placement upon completion of the program.

 

Training opportunities:

The MBFA Master's program in Initial Training (FI) has been defined and implemented since 2005 through a close partnership between the Faculty of Law and Economics (UFR DE) of the University of Reunion Island and the general management of financial companies (banks, specialized credit institutions, and insurance companies) located in Reunion Island. This partnership aims to achieve a 100% job placement rate for graduates. The MBFA FI Master's program is designed to meet the needs of institutions seeking graduates with a Master's degree (Bac+5) capable of performing typical banking and insurance network roles, as well as providing support functions in retail banking; to enable both junior and experienced professionals to understand and master these activities; and to offer future graduates training that meets the needs of the region and facilitates rapid professional integration into the financial and insurance sectors.

For the 2026-2029 academic year, the new presidential team at the University of Reunion Island has chosen to develop its institutional strategy by focusing on creating training programs that promote the success of all students and are tailored to the local area, as well as strengthening the institution's strategic position within its regional, national, and international environment. In direct collaboration with financial institutions on Reunion Island, the MBFA Master's program is a training program that is, by its very nature, adapted to the needs of the local area and thus actively contributes to the success and professional integration of its graduates. The creation of the MBFA Master's program in 2005 and its subsequent developments have always responded to a demand explicitly expressed by the local area (both by students seeking training and by institutions wishing to recruit graduates with a Master's degree in banking, finance, and insurance).

The MBFA Master also welcomes several learners of foreign nationality, notably from other islands in the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Comoros…) and, in a context where it is more difficult for these groups to negotiate a professional training contract, the Master is organized to lead them to the award of the Master's degree, including by allowing them to do their internship, in M1 as in M2, internationally.

The MBFA Master's program thus perfectly meets the University's expectations of being an institution that is efficient, inclusive and socially responsible.

In addition, every year, involving in particular the teaching teams, student delegates and representatives of banking, financial and insurance companies, the improvement councils make it possible to guarantee the adaptation of the MBFA Master to the needs of the sector (training program, durations and periods of internships for initial training, rhythms of alternation for continuing education…).

A program jointly led by academics and top-level professionals in the banking, finance, and insurance sector. The MBFA Master's program benefits from a strong teaching team comprised of academics and professionals working in retail banking who actively contribute to the professional development of the Master's program. These professionals are key figures within their respective institutions: Regional Directors, Sales Directors, Marketing and Multichannel Directors, Sector Directors, Online Branch Managers, Branch Managers, etc. When a course with a direct professional focus becomes available within the program, the offer is communicated to all financial institutions in the market, which then forward it internally to their top performers, the guarantors of the brand image they project externally for their respective institutions.

Work placements (supervised by university and professional mentors): in the first year of the Master's program (M1) (2- to 5-month internship), as well as in the second year (M2) (mandatory minimum 6-month internship); – Professional development modules included in the curriculum: seminars on promotion for professional integration , digital culture, English, writing and defending professional dissertations…;

– Several certifications are available upon completion of the program: the national Master's degree, as well as certification from the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF), certification from the Digital Skills Assessment and Certification Platform (PIX), English language certification, and spelling certification; – Continuous improvement of the training program: In addition to the annual survey conducted by DORIE, the MBFA Master's program regularly conducts a supplementary study, also via survey (online questionnaire), to monitor graduates and their professional integration. This study focuses on the time taken to obtain their first job, the nature of that job, and their current situation. This investigative work also leads us to collect graduates' feedback ("after the fact") on the resources used for the training (room adaptation, adaptation of teaching materials), the pedagogy (course content, instructors' performances), the stakeholders (instructors, training managers, the class group), the organization (course duration, break length, phasing between university classes and time spent in the workplace, support mechanisms, time for personal reflection, etc.), the time spent in the workplace (duration, assigned tasks, material conditions, teaching quality of the professional mentor), and their suggestions for improving the training program. Graduates are thus invited to check the box that best corresponds to their opinion, from 1 (least favorable: non-existent, not at all suitable) to 4 (most favorable: very good, perfectly suited, etc.). This feedback, also expected within the framework of the QUALIOPI label we hold, is used and allows for the continuous improvement of the training; – Very good rates of success in obtaining the diploma and in professional integration.

In person

Total hours worked: 873 hours

Master 1: 453 hours

Master 2: 420 hours

September 1st

During the seminars for setting up the training program, for each of the tracks offered within the MBFA Master's program, and taking into account the national RNCP (National Directory of Professional Certifications) profile, the expected skills upon completion of the program were defined and broken down in terms of knowledge, know-how (technical skills), and interpersonal skills. This collaborative process strengthened both the coherence and the personalization of each track offered within the MBFA Master's program. In both the first and second years (M1 and M2), skills and abilities form the common core of the training, encompassing knowledge, interpersonal skills, and operational skills. This list is supplemented, for each track, with additional skills and abilities specific to that track. In addition to the national RNCP profile, the MBFA Master's program therefore has a specific, complementary skills framework to account for the unique nature of the training tracks and the diversity of the professions targeted by the program. This program therefore includes a comprehensive and detailed diploma supplement. The training program and the Assessment Methods for Knowledge and Skills (MCCC), as defined, are communicated at the start of each academic year to students, teaching staff, and, for students enrolled in work-study programs, to their host companies. During the annual program development meetings, the coherence between learning objectives, teaching activities, and assessment methods is systematically discussed, and measures are immediately taken if pedagogical alignment needs strengthening. Understanding the program's objectives allows each instructor to refine and specialize their teaching. Each instructor thus contributes, within their assigned courses, to the success of the entire project, within an organizational structure that fosters the continuous improvement of the program offered to students. The evaluations of teaching and training, conducted annually anonymously among students enrolled in the MBFA Master program, make it possible to verify the adaptation of the pedagogy to the objectives of the training, but also to identify and therefore correct any unproductive gaps or redundancies in the teaching and activities offered to students.

The skills acquired during this training are in line with those of the RNCP record

Examples of skills targeted upon completion of the Master 2 MBFA:

• Practices of banking activities with in-depth knowledge of the banking firm, its changing environment, its businesses, its clients and its products.
• The foundations, regulations, business lines, clients, products and accounting results of insurance companies, specialized credit institutions and financing companies.
• Compliance with regulations, risk management, operational security and conformity.
• Analyze the client or prospect, their economic and financial situation to determine their needs.
• Managing the relationship on a daily basis in all its facets.
• Prepare credit files by comprehensively presenting the key elements enabling decision-making and by justifying these proposals.
• Negotiate the financial and guarantee terms.
• Selling the bank to the client and the client to the bank, always keeping in mind the concepts of profitability and risk.
• To develop economic and financial diagnoses, taking into account both the client's current situation and their prospects.
• Provide recommendations regarding financing and/or asset management.
• Synthesize these analyses and recommendations into written reports to be given to clients.
• Define an investment financing plan.
• Meet with the companies being monitored and build quality relationships with them to obtain the information that allows for the best visibility.
• Identify and select investment opportunities.
• Develop a portfolio that allows for synergies between different investments.
• Manage the relationship with the company in order to generate reinvestment opportunities.
• Offering cash management solutions; advising SMEs and their managers.
• Advising professional and private clients.
• Secure banking and financial transaction practices.

In the MBFA Master's program, the few students who drop out during the year are due to medical, family (pregnancy, relocation, etc.), or professional reasons (recruitment to a permanent contract outside the region). Considering the student population admitted by the MBFA Master's admissions committees and present in the program until the second exam session, the success rate is approximately 100% in both the first and second years. The main difficulty encountered by the program concerns candidates admitted through appeals committees (following appeals filed by unsuccessful candidates with the rector): those admitted to the MBFA Master's program lack the prerequisites to succeed in a Master's degree in economics and, although encouraged to do so, do not attend the third-year undergraduate courses that would allow them to solidify their foundational knowledge. To help them with the subjects considered the most difficult, the entire course material and past exam papers are provided to them by the instructors (via Moodle). Unfortunately, we are seeing significant absenteeism among these learners, which does not help their success.

In addition to modules preparing students for professional integration, the MBFA Master's program includes several periods of operational training within a company. This training takes place within the company with which the intern has signed an internship agreement. Each intern is placed under the supervision of a professional tutor appointed by the company's Human Resources Department.

The purpose of the operational training period within the company is to provide trainees with training in the tools and processes implemented by the company, work with defined missions, appropriate equipment and responsibilities, opportunities for synthesis and technology transfer, integration into a project team, and the development of confidence. During their operational training, trainees must learn the skills and adopt the interpersonal skills related to, depending on the missions assigned to them, the technical, commercial, and/or management roles within the banking, insurance, and finance sector. In all cases, they should be considered as a sales reinforcement for the branch's sales force or as a technical reinforcement within support services (Treasury, Compliance, Sales Promotion, Marketing, and Multichannel Management, etc.). The monitoring of on-the-job training is carried out by the training managers, who ensure both the consistency of the missions and tasks assigned to the trainee with the diploma objectives as defined in the ministerial accreditation file and the quality of the trainee's professional integration within their company. The on-the-job training is assessed by the jury during the presentation of the final project or professional dissertation, based on an "assessment and monitoring form for the on-the-job training" completed by the professional tutor. This assessment is then included in the final grade for the final project or professional dissertation.

• In M1: the mandatory internship is a minimum of 2 months and can last up to 5 months.
• In the second year of the Master's program (M2): there is an optional internship of up to 6 months (between September of year N and March of year N+1; classes are then held during the week in the evenings, from 17 pm to 20 pm, and on Saturdays) and a mandatory 6-month internship (from April to September of year N+1). University courses and exams end at the end of March, making it possible to complete the (mandatory) internships outside the department. Similarly, the adapted training schedule in this program facilitates the enrollment of diverse student populations, particularly working professionals returning to their studies (who are not funded and are therefore enrolled in initial training programs).

Furthermore, to enable learners to undertake an internship outside the department, courses and exams have been concentrated in initial training, in M1 (from August N to March N+1) as in M2 (from August N to February N+1).

Registration fees are set annually by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space and are available on our institution's website: Register at the University of Reunion

• The candidate's previous background, including prior enrollment in courses positioned in the fields of law, economics, management, and professional experience, particularly in the banking, finance, insurance and/or commercial sectors.
• The candidate's ability to pursue the requested training (taking into account the grades obtained in subjects relating to money, banking, finance and insurance, the quality of the application file – content and form).
• The candidate's motivation in relation to their personal and professional project.

• Transcripts, attestations or certificates
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) and supporting documents
• Cover letter

A degree mention, Bachelor's level 3, obtained in the field of Law-Economics-Management

Depending on the student's situation, applications for admission to the first year of the Master's program (M1) follow three specific procedures (the national platform MonMaster, Études en France, Validation of Acquired Experience). For more information, please consult the university's student services page. Enroll in the first year of a Master's program

Baccalaureate + 3 or equivalent

The Master's program in Money, Banking, Finance, and Insurance is open to candidates:

• holders of a diploma certifying undergraduate studies. The M1 MBFA is primarily intended for students holding a Bachelor's degree in the field of "law, economics and management", in particular the Bachelor's degree in Economics and Management and the Bachelor's degree in Economic and Social Administration (AES).
• who can benefit from the validation of studies, professional experience or personal achievements for access to different levels of higher education. In the latter case, the application file serves as a request for validation of prior learning.

 The profiles sought are as follows:

Excellent adaptability to different types of interlocutors, listening skills, quality of advice and negotiation, commercial acumen and sense of teamwork.

50 seats.

The admission dates for the first year of the Master's degree (M1) are set nationally each year and are available on the platform. My Master

In M1: The success rate has improved, going from:

• 72% in 2020/2021
• at 77,5% for 2022/2023

 

In M2: The success rate has fluctuated considerably:

• 70% for 2020/2021
• 100% for 2021/2022
• 60% for 2022/2023 (60% on the M2 MBFA Banking and Financial Careers track – CBF, 93% on the M2 MBFA Wealth Management Client Advisor track – CCPAT and 95% on the M2 MBFA Professional and Very Small Business Client Advisor track – CCPRO & TPE).

 

The MBFA Master's program is professionally oriented and aims for direct entry into the workforce upon completion of the program. The significant number of internships, apprenticeships, and professional training contracts offered by the island's financial institutions to MBFA Master's students demonstrates the local need for recruitment at the Master's level (Bac+5). This need is met through recruitment at the end of the program.

Few students pursue further studies after the Master's degree (since the creation of the degree in 2005, only one graduate of the MBFA Master's program has decided to pursue, alongside his professional activity, a doctorate in economics. With his doctoral degree validated, he benefited from professional mobility, recruited as a Director of Service in a local authority).

The sectors of activity and types of employment targeted by this training correspond to those listed in the RNCP record

The professions directly targeted by the MBFA Master's program are those of:

• Bank branch manager
• Financial Services Retail Outlet Manager
• Financial Analyst
• Head of segmentation/profitability.