Members of Uganda Bankers’ Association (UBA) a few days ago held their annual general meeting and elected Sarah Arapta, as the new Chair taking over from Dfcu Bank Chief Executive Officer Mathias Katamba who has served for two years (2020 & 2021).
Ms. Arapta is the Chief Executive Officer of Citibank Uganda.
Mr. Katamba in his statement noted that the banking industry had and continues to play its role as an engine to facilitate activities in all sectors of the economy by providing a range of relief measures and interventions to support growth and economic recovery during & post covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Mr Katamba further highlighted that the accommodations for sectors such as education and hospitality that remained under lockdown much longer, were put in place to enable supervised financial institutions (SFIs) continue providing credit relief till end of September 2022.
Regarding the association’s medium term strategy, Mr Katamba noted that the key achievements that were realised in the strategy period 2019-2021 included among others; the submission of the regulatory reforms report to Bank of Uganda with key recommendations to improve the operating environment for financial institutions and delivery of the Electronic Know Your Customer (E-KYC)/ access to NIRA database project with 25 out of 36 supervised financial institutions connected to NIRA as at end of December 2021.
He noted that the strategic plan for the period 2022-2024 was finalised with one of its key objectives being to position the industry not only to support economic recovery post COVID-19 pandemic, but also alignment with Government’s national development plan priorities to support specific sectors.
Mr Katamba also emphasized the need for bringing alive the key industry strategic project of cyber security operations center in light of the increasing cyber risks the industry faces.
The 2022-2024 strategy will also continue with the consolidation and enhancement of the achievements of the previous strategy period 2019 – 2021 intended at championing the growth & development of robust, 24/7, integrated digital infrastructure, promotion of financial inclusion and driving down the average industry cost of delivering financial services in Uganda.
On challenges, Mr. Katamba reported that the year had been affected by challenges due to COVID-19 and these included loss of staff and partners as well as stressed loan portfolios.
He also highlighted fraud risks and delays in concluding crucial pieces of legislations and regulations for which he stated that UBA would continue working closely with the Regulator and Ministry of Finance, planning and Economic Development to ensure that these are finalised.
Other members elected on the executive committee of UBA include;
Julius Kakeeto, CEO, Post Bank Uganda Ltd as Vice Chair.
Shem Kakembo, CEO, EFC Uganda Ltd as Hon Treasurer.
Raj Kumar Meena, CEO, Bank of Baroda as Hon. Auditor.
Olalekan Sanusi, CEO, Guaranty Trust Bank, as Committee Member.
James Onyutta, CEO, FINCA (U) Ltd, as Committee Member.