Treasury, Investment & Risk Management (TIRM) Syllabus 2026 + Free PDF
The TIRM syllabus for the IIBF Diploma in Treasury, Investment & Risk Management is one of the most analytical, high-value qualifications a banker can pursue. To clear it efficiently you need three things: a precise map of the syllabus, awareness of what has recently changed in the regulatory landscape, and good application-based practice. This exhaustive guide covers the complete Treasury, Investment & Risk Management (TIRM) syllabus for 2026 module-by-module and chapter-by-chapter, flags the topics that have been updated, and links you to free tests, one-liners, notes and games to prepare faster. You can also download the official syllabus PDF below.
📥 Download the Full TIRM Syllabus (PDF)
The complete, exam-ready Treasury, Investment & Risk Management syllabus in one PDF — keep it open while you plan your study weeks across risk, Basel, market risk and derivatives.
Download TIRM Syllabus PDF →What is the Treasury, Investment & Risk Management (TIRM) Course?
TIRM is a specialised IIBF certification that builds deep, practical expertise in how banks measure and manage risk, capital, market exposures and derivatives. It suits treasury dealers, risk officers, ALM and mid-office staff, investment desk personnel and any banker who wants to understand how a balance sheet is protected against interest-rate, liquidity, credit, market and operational risk.
The course runs from why banks are special and the architecture of a risk-management framework, through Basel III and RBI capital-adequacy guidelines, into the quantitative heart of market risk — fixed-income valuation, interest-rate risk measurement and Value at Risk — and finishes with a full module on derivatives. It is, in effect, a complete risk-and-treasury toolkit for the modern banker.
TIRM Exam Pattern at a Glance
The TIRM examination is an objective, MCQ-based test delivered through IIBF's remote-proctored mode. Questions are heavily application- and numerical-oriented — expect VaR, duration, capital-ratio and hedging sums rather than simple definition recall — so conceptual clarity and calculator practice matter far more than rote learning. Always confirm the current number of questions, duration, marking scheme and passing marks from the latest IIBF examination notification before you register, as IIBF revises these periodically.
Treasury, Investment & Risk Management Syllabus 2026 – Chapter-Wise
The TIRM syllabus is organised into modules covering the risk framework, Basel & RBI guidelines, market risk and derivatives. Here is the complete chapter-wise breakdown:
| Module | Ch | Topic | What you learn |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Risk & Risk Management Framework | 1 | Why Banks are Special | The unique role of banks, maturity transformation and why they are tightly regulated. |
| A. Risk & Risk Management Framework | 2 | Risks and Risk Management in Banks | Credit, market, operational and liquidity risk and how each is managed. |
| A. Risk & Risk Management Framework | 3 | Risk Management Framework | Governance, the three lines of defence and the risk-appetite framework. |
| A. Risk & Risk Management Framework | 4 | Effectiveness & Internal Control | How internal controls and audit make a risk framework actually work. |
| A. Risk & Risk Management Framework | 5 | Liquidity Risk Management | Funding vs market liquidity, gap analysis and the role of HQLA. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 6 | Global Financial Crisis & Basel III | Lessons of 2008 and how Basel III responded with stronger capital and liquidity rules. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 7 | Regulatory Capital & Capital Adequacy | CET1, Tier 1, Tier 2, risk-weighted assets and the CRAR. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 8 | Capital Charge for Credit Risk | Standardised and IRB approaches to computing credit-risk capital. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 9 | Capital Allocation Against Market Risk | Standardised duration method and capital for interest-rate, equity and forex risk. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 10 | Capital Charge for Operational Risk | Basic Indicator, Standardised and the newer measurement approaches. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 11 | Supervisory Review & ICAAP | Pillar 2, the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process and Pillar 2 risks. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 12 | Stress Testing & PCA Framework | Designing stress scenarios and RBI's Prompt Corrective Action triggers. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 13 | Market Discipline | Pillar 3 disclosure requirements that let markets assess a bank's risk. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 14 | Buffers, Liquidity Ratios & Leverage Ratio | CCB, CCyB, LCR, NSFR and the leverage-ratio backstop. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 15 | Risk Based Supervision | RBI's shift to a forward-looking, risk-focused supervisory model. |
| B. Basel & RBI Guidelines on Risk Management | 16 | Risk Based Internal Audit | Prioritising audit effort by the risk profile of business units. |
| C. Market Risk | 17 | Fixed Income Securities | Bond pricing, yield, YTM and the price-yield relationship. |
| C. Market Risk | 18 | Measurement of Interest Rate Risk | Duration, modified duration, convexity and PV01. |
| C. Market Risk | 19 | Value at Risk | VaR methods — variance-covariance, historical and Monte Carlo — and back-testing. |
| D. Derivatives & Risk Management | 20 | Derivatives & Risk Management (Intro) | Overview of derivatives and their role in hedging and managing risk. |
| D. Derivatives & Risk Management | 21 | Forward Contract | OTC forwards, pricing and currency/interest-rate hedging with forwards. |
| D. Derivatives & Risk Management | 22 | Futures | Exchange-traded futures, margining, marking-to-market and basis. |
| D. Derivatives & Risk Management | 23 | Options | Calls, puts, payoffs, premium drivers and the option Greeks. |
| D. Derivatives & Risk Management | 24 | Swaps | Interest-rate and currency swaps and how they restructure cash flows. |
Note: The official IIBF document also carries general examination instructions (centre selection, mobile-phone and calculator rules, conduct and result advice). Those are administrative pages, not study chapters, so the table above lists only the academic syllabus. Always read the instruction pages of the PDF before exam day.
🆕 Recently Updated Topics You Must Not Miss
Risk and capital regulation moves fast, and the TIRM paper increasingly tests the latest position. Pay special attention to these recently revised areas (always cross-check the exact current figures against the latest RBI Master Directions / Basel framework / IIBF notification):
- Basel III capital buffers & ratios: The Capital Conservation Buffer, Countercyclical Capital Buffer, minimum CRAR, LCR and NSFR thresholds are refined by RBI from time to time. Revise the current required percentages rather than older textbook figures.
- Leverage Ratio framework: RBI has prescribed the minimum leverage ratio for banks (with a differential applied to D-SIBs). Confirm the latest minimum percentage and exposure-measure definition before the exam.
- Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) thresholds: The PCA framework parameters — based on capital, asset quality and leverage — have been revised; study the current trigger levels and the structured action they invite.
We keep our TIRM notes and tests synced with these updates, so the figures you revise here stay current.
Quick TIRM One-Liners for Revision
Use these rapid-fire one-liners to lock in the high-yield TIRM concepts before the exam:
Free TIRM Study Resources on Learning Sessions
A syllabus is only the start — you clear TIRM by practising the numericals and concepts until they are automatic. Use the full Learning Sessions toolkit, all built around this exact syllabus:
- 📝 Chapter-wise TIRM mock tests — timed, exam-pattern MCQs with instant answers and explanations.
- ⚡ Chapter one-liners — bite-sized revision points (a sample set is above) for last-mile prep.
- 🎮 Matching games — gamified drills that make risk terms, ratios and derivative payoffs stick.
- 📚 Detailed notes & study-material PDFs — chapter-by-chapter notes you can download and revise offline.
- 🎥 Live and recorded classes — concept-building sessions by Ashish Jain for every risk and treasury topic.
Test Yourself — TIRM Practice Questions
Try these hard, application-based questions. Tap Show Answer to check yourself and read the reasoning:
Q1. A bank reports a 1-day 99% VaR of Rs 5 crore on its trading book. Which interpretation is correct?
- a) The bank will definitely lose Rs 5 crore tomorrow
- b) There is a 1% chance the one-day loss exceeds Rs 5 crore
- c) The maximum possible loss is capped at Rs 5 crore
- d) The bank's profit will be Rs 5 crore with 99% confidence
✅ Show Answer
Answer: b) There is a 1% chance the one-day loss exceeds Rs 5 crore
VaR at 99% confidence over one day means losses are expected to exceed Rs 5 crore only 1% of the time. VaR does not cap the maximum loss, nor does it guarantee a specific outcome — tail losses can be far larger.
Q2. A bond portfolio has a modified duration of 6. If market yields rise by 0.50%, the approximate change in portfolio value is:
- a) +3.0%
- b) -3.0%
- c) -6.0%
- d) +0.5%
✅ Show Answer
Answer: b) -3.0%
Approximate price change = -(modified duration) x (change in yield) = -6 x 0.50% = -3.0%. A rise in yields reduces bond prices, so the value falls by roughly 3%.
Q3. Under Basel III, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital is primarily intended to absorb losses on a:
- a) Gone-concern basis only
- b) Going-concern basis
- c) Off-balance-sheet basis
- d) Tax-deferred basis
✅ Show Answer
Answer: b) Going-concern basis
CET1 is the highest quality, going-concern capital that absorbs losses while the bank continues to operate. Tier 2 instruments are gone-concern capital that protect depositors mainly on liquidation.
Q4. A treasurer expects rupee depreciation and wants to lock the rate for a future USD import payment. The most direct hedge is to:
- a) Sell a USD/INR forward
- b) Buy a USD/INR forward
- c) Write a USD call option
- d) Take no action
✅ Show Answer
Answer: b) Buy a USD/INR forward
An importer who must pay USD later is short dollars; buying a USD/INR forward locks the purchase rate today, hedging against rupee depreciation. Selling a forward or writing a call would leave the exposure open or add risk.
Q5. Which Basel III measure is a NON-risk-based backstop designed to constrain the build-up of leverage?
- a) Liquidity Coverage Ratio
- b) Capital Conservation Buffer
- c) Leverage Ratio
- d) Net Stable Funding Ratio
✅ Show Answer
Answer: c) Leverage Ratio
The Leverage Ratio (Tier 1 capital to total exposure) is deliberately non-risk-based, acting as a backstop to the risk-weighted capital requirements and limiting excessive balance-sheet leverage.
Q6. Operational risk capital under Basel norms is most directly intended to cover losses arising from:
- a) Adverse movements in interest rates
- b) Borrower default on a term loan
- c) Failed internal processes, people, systems or external events
- d) A fall in equity prices in the trading book
✅ Show Answer
Answer: c) Failed internal processes, people, systems or external events
Operational risk is the risk of loss from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events. Interest-rate and price moves are market risk, while borrower default is credit risk.
How to Prepare for the TIRM Exam
Because the TIRM paper is application- and numerical-driven, a module-by-module approach works best:
- Build the framework (Module A, Chapters 1–5): lock in why banks are special, the risk taxonomy, governance and liquidity-risk basics.
- Master Basel & RBI capital (Module B, Chapters 6–16): the regulatory backbone of the paper — drill capital tiers, charges for credit/market/operational risk, ICAAP, buffers, LCR/NSFR, leverage and PCA.
- Conquer market risk (Module C, Chapters 17–19): the scoring numerical heart — practise bond pricing, duration/PV01 and VaR sums until they are automatic.
- Finish with derivatives (Module D, Chapters 20–24): understand forwards, futures, options and swaps and how each hedges a specific exposure.
- Revise with mocks + one-liners + games: alternate full-length mock tests with one-liner revision and matching games so accuracy and speed climb together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Treasury, Investment & Risk Management (TIRM) course worth it?
Yes. For anyone in treasury, risk, ALM, mid-office or investment roles, TIRM builds directly job-relevant skills in capital management, market risk and derivatives, and signals strong risk expertise to employers — one of the most analytical IIBF qualifications.
How many chapters are there in the TIRM syllabus?
The TIRM academic syllabus spans 24 chapters across four modules — Risk & Risk Management Framework, Basel & RBI Guidelines, Market Risk, and Derivatives & Risk Management — alongside the administrative examination-instruction pages in the official document.
Where can I download the TIRM syllabus PDF?
You can download the complete TIRM syllabus PDF from the button above — it lists every chapter in the official IIBF order, module by module.
How should I keep up with updated topics?
Follow RBI Master Directions and circulars on capital adequacy, Basel III buffers, LCR/NSFR, the leverage ratio and the PCA framework, and use our regularly-updated TIRM notes and mock tests, which reflect the latest figures.
Start Your TIRM Preparation Today
A clear syllabus is half the battle. Download the TIRM syllabus PDF, map each module to a study block, revise with one-liners and games, and back it all with timed mock tests and plenty of numerical practice. With a structured plan and consistent effort, the Treasury, Investment & Risk Management certification is well within reach.
Take a free mock test, download chapter PDFs, or watch a video class — all included on iibf.store.
