Family C · Markets, instruments and transactions · Coming soon
Corporate & Investment Banking Certification
From the balance sheet to closing: value, structure, take it to market.
Notice
Corporate & Investment Banking Certification carries no regulatory recognition. It does not replace the certifications CNBV requires through AMIB for traders and advisers, nor the equivalent regulatory licences of other jurisdictions.
CIB
01 — ABSTRACTCorporate & Investment Banking Certification
The world's leading banks run as universal banks: the same franchise lends, runs the client's treasury, places its debt and equity and advises on its next acquisition. The business is large: global corporate and investment banking generated USD 760 billion in 2024 and employs an estimated 1.2 to 1.8 million professionals. No credential today attests to the banker who originates, structures and executes those transactions, and none exists in Spanish.
Corporate & Investment Banking Certification is the RiskMathics Certificate Institute credential for the banker who carries a transaction from start to finish: financial statements, valuation, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, leveraged and structured finance, restructuring and multi-jurisdictional regulation. It has two levels: Level I certifies technical mastery; Level II, the execution of complex transactions and leadership of the advisory mandate. The exam can be taken with or without the preparation program, delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute, which adds corporate lending and transaction banking to form the universal banker.
The CFA trains analysts and devotes 5 to 10 % of its curriculum to anything resembling investment banking; the FRM measures risk; the Series 79 is a US regulatory exam that requires firm sponsorship; the FMVA teaches modelling; AMIB, ANBIMA and AMV certifications are mandatory but valid only in their own jurisdiction. Across more than fifty certifications reviewed, none integrates the corporate and investment banking value chain. This one takes it whole, in Spanish, with the regulation of Mexico and Latin America as part of the body of knowledge.
CIB
02 — INDUSTRYWhat is happening in the industry
The revenue pool is being reshuffled. In 2024 corporate banking fell 2 %, to USD 422 billion, on margin compression and competition from private credit; origination and advisory grew 32 %, to USD 94 billion. Global debt issuance set a record of USD 10.7 trillion and investment banking fees reached USD 117.4 billion. Private credit now manages USD 1.7 to 2.1 trillion and is pushing banks toward originate-and-distribute models.
Latin America is the frontier. In 2024 the region closed more than 2,700 M&A transactions; Mexico recorded 268 for USD 28.1 billion, up 76 % by value on the prior year. Foreign direct investment into Mexico reached a record USD 40.9 billion in the first nine months of 2025, with financial services capturing 25.1 %. The contrast is in equity: five IPOs raising USD 28 million in 2024, against 52 raising USD 16.26 billion in 2021, while international debt issuance set a record USD 161 billion, also through September 2025.
Credentials have not followed the business. CFA penetration among corporate and investment banking professionals is estimated at 15 to 25 %, and at 10 to 20 % in corporate banking. The Series 79 covers nearly every registered representative in the United States and no one outside it. On the client side, 72 % of large companies keep their banks under constant review and most reconsider the relationship every four to five years. Whoever takes that account to market needs to prove the whole transaction, not a single product.
CIB
03 — WHYWhy this certification
An investment banker in the region chooses today among credentials that measure something else: a regulatory licence that tests rules rather than transactions, a modelling subscription that teaches the spreadsheet but not origination or regulation, or an investment designation built for the buy-side. None is offered in Spanish or integrates the regulation of CNBV, CVM, CMF and SFC, which is where the Latin American deal is structured.
Corporate & Investment Banking Certification attests to the banker who works the whole transaction: reads the balance sheet for the deal, values, structures the issue and takes it to market, advises the acquisition and restructures when the cycle turns, with regulatory literacy across several jurisdictions and ethics as an assessed domain. The credential says nothing about classroom hours. It says the holder worked each link of the transaction and chained them, in front of an examiner who neither employs them nor prepared them.
- The full transaction value chain: financial statements and valuation, mergers and acquisitions, ECM, DCM and leveraged finance, structured finance and restructuring.
- Two levels with progression: technical mastery at Level I, with 120 items and two mini-cases; complex transaction execution, sector advisory, private capital and leadership at Level II, with 80 items and four written cases.
- Two tracks: global, referenced to the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, and Mexico and Latin America, with CNBV and the LMV, CVM, CMF and SFC; CKDs, CERPIs, FIBRAs, FIDCs and CRIs, and comparative merger control.
- An exam independent of the program: it can be taken with or without the preparation course.
- Items written at levels 1, 2 and 3 of Bloom's taxonomy and calibrated under the institute's single psychometric rulebook.
- Ethics, compliance and professional standards as a domain with its own weight, not an appendix.
CIB
04 — OUTCOMESWhat it prepares for
- 01
Value companies by discounted cash flow, multiples, precedent transactions and leveraged buyout analysis, with a country risk premium and a model in US dollars or local currency.
- 02
Advise a merger or acquisition from start to finish: strategic rationale, due diligence, deal structure, accretion/dilution, contract negotiation and approvals across jurisdictions.
- 03
Take an equity issue to market: registration with the SEC, CNBV or CVM, bookbuilding, pricing, allocation and stabilisation; follow-ons, placements under Rule 144A and Regulation S, and SPACs.
- 04
Originate and syndicate debt: investment-grade and high-yield bonds, leveraged loans, covenants, the rating process and project finance.
- 05
Design structured finance: special purpose vehicles, tranching, payment waterfalls, credit enhancement and the region's vehicles: CKDs, CERPIs, FIBRAs, FIDCs and CRIs.
- 06
Restructure: identify the fulcrum security, estimate recoveries and operate under concurso mercantil, recuperação judicial or Chapter 11.
- 07
Navigate the regulation of Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Colombia alongside that of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, with ethics, information barriers and anti-money-laundering as part of the judgement.
- 08
In the preparation program, in addition: decide the credit, from working capital to syndicated loans and private debt; connect the relationship with global transaction banking and win tenders, to work the universal banker's 360° coverage.
CIB
05 — INSTITUTIONSThe cut-off line
Institutions hiring corporate and investment bankers today decide on interviews, in-house tests and years of on-the-job learning. The available credentials measure something else: the CFA, investment analysis; the FRM, risk; the regulatory licence, knowledge of the rules in a single jurisdiction. None shows that the candidate values with rigour, structures an issue and takes it to market, negotiates the purchase agreement and secures approvals in two or three jurisdictions.
Requiring Corporate & Investment Banking Certification sets a verifiable floor. The certificate states which domains were assessed, at what weight and at what level of mastery, and it is stated by a third party that did not teach to the exam. For a bank that expects its bankers to sell the whole relationship, that turns the promise of 360° coverage into an auditable standard.
- A common standard for investment banking, capital markets, financial sponsors coverage, issuers' corporate finance teams and corporate banking.
- Domains with published weights: the institution knows exactly what was certified and at which level.
- Level II with written cases on real transactions: evidence of judgement, not knowledge alone.
- A shorter ramp: the preparation program condenses into 200 hours what used to take years of learning on the job.
CIB
06 — PROFILEWho it is for
Who it is for
- Investment banking, capital markets and M&A boutique analysts, associates and vice presidents.
- Corporate bankers and global transaction banking teams seeking integrated coverage: lending, transaction banking, ECM and DCM and M&A.
- CFOs, treasurers and corporate finance teams at issuers planning debt, equity or a multi-country treasury architecture.
- Private equity and venture capital funds, family offices and financial sponsors teams that originate and execute with banks.
- Corporate development, consultants, lawyers and compliance officers involved in issuance, M&A or market frameworks.
Who it is not for
- Anyone who only needs a regulatory licence to trade or advise, such as the AMIB figures or the Series 79; this certification does not replace them.
- Anyone seeking investment management or wealth advisory; other certifications of the institute attest to those competencies.
- Anyone looking for spreadsheet modelling alone, without origination, regulation or the client relationship.
CIB
07 — KNOWLEDGEBody of knowledge
Thirteen domains across two levels: seven at Level I and six at Level II. Weights follow the certification blueprint and are confirmed in each level's call for candidates; topics come from the blueprint and the preparation program.
01Investment banking industry and financial statementsLevel I · 25 %
- Revenue pools and fee structures: origination and advisory, ECM, DCM and FICC
- How the bank is organised: product groups versus sector groups; pitch books and the origination process
- Quality of earnings, normalised EBITDA, working capital and pro forma adjustments
- IFRS versus US GAAP differences that matter in a transaction; Mexican NIF and Brazilian CPC
- Tax considerations in deal structure: asset versus stock purchases
- Regional track: BMV and B3, regional versus international banks, taxation in Mexico and Brazil
02Valuation methodologiesLevel I · 20 %
- Discounted cash flow: WACC, CAPM in emerging markets, country risk premium and terminal value
- Trading multiples: peer universe selection, calendarisation and adjustments for size, growth and margin
- Precedent transactions: control premium, synergies and adjustments for deal structure
- Leveraged buyout analysis: sources and uses, debt capacity and IRR sensitivity
- Sum-of-the-parts, asset-based valuation and dividend discount models
- Regional track: US dollar versus local currency models and Mexican and Brazilian transaction multiples
03Mergers and acquisitionsLevel I · 20 %
- The full transaction lifecycle: origination, due diligence, negotiation, approvals and closing
- Structures: stock or asset purchases, triangular mergers, tender offers
- Accretion/dilution, purchase price allocation and goodwill creation
- Fairness opinions and defences against hostile bids
- Regional track: merger control (CNA in Mexico, CADE in Brazil), holding structures and earn-outs
04Equity Capital MarketsLevel I · 12 %
- The IPO end to end: registration, bookbuilding, pricing, allocation, stabilisation and lock-ups
- Follow-ons, rights issues, convertibles and private placements under Rule 144A and Regulation S
- At-the-market programs, block trades and accelerated bookbuilds
- SPACs and direct listings
- Regional track: the IPO drought, BMV and B3 listing requirements, the simplified issuers regime, FIBRAs and BDRs
05Debt Capital Markets and leveraged financeLevel I · 12 %
- Investment-grade bonds: prospectus, rating process, covenants, pricing and syndication
- High yield: indentures, call protection and change of control
- Leveraged loans: term loans A, B and C, revolving facilities, covenant-lite and CLO demand
- Structured and project finance: ABS, MBS, CLOs, covered bonds and non-recourse structures
- Regional track: international issuance, GSSS bonds, certificados bursátiles, debentures, CRIs, CRAs and FIDCs
06Restructuring and special situationsLevel I · 6 %
- Out-of-court workouts, prepacks, Chapter 11, schemes of arrangement, concurso mercantil and recuperação judicial
- Distressed debt: the fulcrum security, recovery rates and liquidation analysis
- DIP financing, creditor committees and intercreditor agreements
- Distressed M&A, spin-offs, carve-outs and going-private transactions
- Regional track: restructuring cases in the region and cross-border insolvency
07Regulation, ethics and professional standardsLevel I · 5 %
- Securities regulation: registration, disclosure, insider trading and market manipulation
- Fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest: Chinese walls, restricted lists and information barriers
- Anti-money-laundering, know-your-customer and sanctions in the transaction
- ESG in advisory: sustainability-linked instruments, green bonds, TCFD and ISSB
- The banker's code of conduct: confidentiality, duty of care and conflict management
- Regional track: CNBV reporting obligations, CVM enforcement powers and regulatory cooperation
08Complex transaction execution and deal leadershipLevel II · 25 %
- Coordinating legal, tax, accounting, regulatory and operational advisers across workstreams
- Negotiating the agreement: representations and warranties, indemnities, MAC clauses and break-up fees
- Multi-jurisdictional approval strategy: HSR, the EU Merger Regulation, CNA and CADE
- Cross-border structuring: holding jurisdiction, tax treaties, currency hedging and integration planning
09Sector advisoryLevel II · 15 %
- Technology, media and telecoms: SaaS metrics and licence valuation
- Financial institutions: bank and insurance M&A, regulatory capital and fintech
- Energy and infrastructure, healthcare and real estate: reserves, concessions, risk-adjusted NPV and cap rates
- Regional track: nearshoring-driven industrials, mining, agribusiness and the energy transition
10Structured finance engineeringLevel II · 15 %
- Securitisation architecture: true sale versus synthetic, tranching, waterfalls and credit enhancement
- ABS, CMBS and RMBS; CLO portfolio management and coverage tests
- Advanced project finance: modelling, sensitivities, debt sculpting and sponsor economics
- Regional track: CKDs, CERPIs, FIBRAs and certificados bursátiles fiduciarios; FIDCs, CRIs, CRAs, FIIs and FIAGRO
11Private capital markets and alternative transactionsLevel II · 15 %
- Private equity advisory: LBO execution, management buyouts, growth equity, secondaries and continuation vehicles
- Venture capital: term sheets, preferred stock, anti-dilution, liquidation preferences and drag-along rights
- Private credit: direct lending, unitranche, mezzanine and PIK structures; fund formation and co-investment
- Regional track: the AFORE limit on structured instruments, FIPs and the venture capital ecosystem
12Capital markets innovation and technologyLevel II · 10 %
- Artificial intelligence in origination, target screening and due diligence document review
- Tokenised securities and digital bond issuance
- ESG-integrated advisory: sustainability-linked M&A, green bond structuring and carbon markets
- Quantitative tools: Monte Carlo simulation and real options; virtual data rooms and process letters
13Leadership, governance and client advisoryLevel II · 20 %
- C-suite and board relationships: trusted adviser positioning and proactive origination
- Team leadership, talent development and culture
- Firm risk: reputation, conflict protocols and criteria to accept or decline a mandate
- Board presentations, hostile situations and media strategy; capstone advisory engagement on a multi-jurisdictional regional transaction
CIB
08 — TWO PRODUCTSPreparation program · Certification exam
Preparation program
Preparation program
Program delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute
The Corporate & Investment Banking Executive Program is delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute, the group's school since 2005. Its 12 modules cover the exam syllabus, add corporate lending and global transaction banking to complete the universal banker's profile, and include mock exams built to the same recipe as the exam. It is a separate product from the exam: contracted separately, with its own fee, and not a prerequisite for sitting it.
Corporate & Investment Banking Executive Program
200 h12 modules and 100 two-hour classes. It runs through ethics in banking; an introduction to investment banking; asset allocation and portfolio management; public markets (equities and ETFs, fixed income, FX, derivatives, equity markets and structured notes); corporate finance (financial statements, valuation and M&A); equity capital markets and SPACs; corporate lending with a project finance block; global transaction banking with an RFP simulation; debt capital markets; financial sponsors; structured finance; and strategic intelligence, leadership and negotiation. Taught by managing directors and active practitioners.
- All 12 modules, in two-hour classes from 19:00 to 21:00 Mexico City time on Zoom; the ethics and leadership modules are delivered in person in Mexico City.
- Mock exams for each level, built to the exam recipe at Bloom levels 1, 2 and 3.
- Ready-to-use methodology: cases, term sheets, credit memos, account plans and committee and tender simulations.
- Capstones and a practical case on USD/MXN analysis with a proposal for a corporate client.
Next cohort to be confirmed · two-hour classes from 19:00 to 21:00, Mexico City time · hybrid delivery: Zoom and an in-person venue in Mexico City.
Certification exam
Certification exam
Built, audited and administered by the RiskMathics Certificate Institute. It can be taken with or without the preparation program. Two sequential levels. The format below is the one envisaged in the certification blueprint and is confirmed in each level's call for candidates.
If the candidate does not pass
The Certification Board is defining the failure and retake policy: how many attempts each window allows, the minimum wait between them, the fee for sitting the exam again and what happens to levels already passed. It is published here as soon as it is approved; in the meantime, the figures may be requested at growth@riskmathics.com. Exam governance →
Items are written at levels 1, 2 and 3 of Bloom's taxonomy: remember, understand and apply. Each form follows a fixed recipe of items per domain and per level; the mini-cases and written cases assess level 3, apply. Every item is calibrated for difficulty and discrimination under the institute's single psychometric rulebook before it counts toward the score, and no candidate sees the same item twice within 24 months. Bloom's Taxonomy →
CIB
09 — MOCK EXAMSMock exams
The preparation program includes mock exams for each level. Each is assembled to the same recipe as the live exam: the same domains, the same weights and the same proportion of items per level of mastery, from remember to apply. The items are distinct from the certification bank; they measure the same thing without exposing it.
A Level I mock reproduces the format of 120 multiple-choice items and two mini-cases. A Level II mock reproduces the written cases on a transaction. Results are returned by domain and by Bloom level, so the candidate knows what is missing and at which level.
- Level 1 · Remember: definitions, market conventions, financial ratios, roles in an offering and the terms of an indenture or a loan agreement.
- Level 2 · Understand: read a cash flow statement, a yield curve, the structure of a syndicated issue or the effect of a covenant.
- Level 3 · Apply: value by DCF and multiples, compute accretion/dilution, price an issue, compute a project's DSCR, identify the fulcrum security or solve an M&A mini-case.
CIB
10 — PATHLearning path
- Phase 1
Ethics, the industry and public marketsModules I–IV
Ethics in banking, an introduction to investment banking, asset allocation and portfolios, and public markets: equities and ETFs, fixed income, FX, derivatives, equity markets and structured notes and products. The language and the instruments on which everything else is built.
- Phase 2
Corporate finance and the equity marketModules V–VI
Financial statement analysis and interpretation, company valuation and M&A, equity capital markets and SPACs. From the balance sheet to the price of a public offering.
- Phase 3
Lending, transaction banking and the debt marketModules VII–IX
Corporate lending with a project finance block, global transaction banking with an RFP simulation and debt capital markets. The relationship that becomes recurring and the debt market that finances it.
- Phase 4
Sponsors, structured finance and leadershipModules X–XII
Financial sponsors; structured finance with SPVs, tranches, credit enhancement, certificados bursátiles fiduciarios, CKDs and FIBRA-E; and strategic intelligence, leadership and negotiation, closing with negotiation simulations.
- Phase 5
CertificationLevel I and Level II · dates to be confirmed
Mock exams for each level and the Level I exam: 120 items and two mini-cases. Level II, 80 items and four written cases, is taken after passing Level I.
Investment
11Program and exam, priced separately
Program and exam are two products with two fees; neither includes the other. Fees are stated in US dollars plus applicable tax; payment terms are published with the call for candidates.
CIB
12 — FAQFrequently asked questions
Is the certification the same as the Corporate & Investment Banking Executive Program?
No. The executive program is delivered by RiskMathics Financial Institute: 12 modules, 100 classes and 200 hours for USD 9,500 plus VAT. The exam is built and administered by the RiskMathics Certificate Institute for USD 1,500 plus VAT. They are contracted separately. The program covers the exam syllabus and includes mock exams; candidates who already command the material may register directly for the exam.
Does it carry regulatory recognition?
No. Corporate & Investment Banking Certification is a professional certification with no regulatory recognition. It does not replace the figures CNBV requires through AMIB, FINRA's Series 79, or the mandatory certifications of ANBIMA or AMV. It attests technical competence and judgement before an independent third party; compliance with a regime is attested by the exam each regulator designates.
What distinguishes Level I from Level II?
Level I certifies technical mastery: industry and financial statements (25 %), valuation (20 %), mergers and acquisitions (20 %), equity capital markets (12 %), debt capital markets and leveraged finance (12 %), restructuring (6 %) and regulation and ethics (5 %), in 120 multiple-choice items and two mini-cases. Level II certifies execution: complex transactions and deal leadership (25 %), sector advisory (15 %), structured finance engineering (15 %), private capital markets (15 %), innovation and technology (10 %) and leadership, governance and client advisory (20 %), in 80 items and four written cases. Level II requires Level I to have been passed; weights follow the blueprint and are confirmed in the call for candidates.
When does the first exam open?
The date of the first Level I exam is to be confirmed and will be published in the call for candidates. Anyone who requests information at growth@riskmathics.com receives notice when it opens. The preparation program can be taken before the exam opens.
What is the Mexico and Latin America track?
The exam shares a global core and offers two tracks. On the Mexico and Latin America track, roughly 20 % of items are replaced with regional content: CNBV and the Securities Market Law, CVM, vehicles such as CKDs, CERPIs, FIBRAs, FIDCs and CRIs, cross-border structuring, nearshoring-driven M&A, valuation with country risk and currency effects, and comparative merger control. The global track uses references from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. On both, the exam is delivered in Spanish with industry terminology in English.
Does the exam cover corporate banking and transaction banking?
The exam's body of knowledge follows the certification blueprint and certifies the transaction chain: financial statements and valuation, mergers and acquisitions, ECM, DCM and leveraged finance, structured finance, restructuring, and regulation and ethics. Corporate lending and global transaction banking belong to the preparation program, which uses them to complete the universal banker's profile. The final weighting of each level is published with the call for candidates.
Corporate & Investment Banking Certification
From the balance sheet to closing: value, structure, take it to market.