Journalist training course

30th June, 2010

Associação Portuguesa de Bancos (Portuguese Bank Association) and Instituto de Formação Bancária (Portuguese Bank Training Institute) are organising training courses for Portuguese journalists in order to contribute to a better understanding and interpretation of financial and banking matters in Portugal.

Due to the financial sector's importance in the economy, the greater sophistication, specificity and complexity of the markets and a growing need for information on these matters on the part of the media, the APB decided to organise short-term courses at convenient times to help journalists learn more about the sector. The courses can be attended by freelance journalists or those working for a media outlet.

A small questionnaire was distributed to ascertain the areas and issues of more interest to them. The results showed that the matters of most interest for their work were balance sheet analyses, indexes, ratios and ratings, the banking systems and finance and loans.

The first course was held on 22 and 23 March and addressed the financial analysis of a balance sheet. It was attended by 33 journalists. The subject is still of interest to journalists and so new courses are planned. The course was also held in Porto on 30 June 2010 and scored high with the 12 economy journalists who attended.