The newly-elected chairperson of
At least two local banks have filed e-Fraud cases with Police in the last few months in a banking industry that works with numerous third parties to deliver services.
"If any link in the chain is weak, it can be exploited to occasion a fraud," Mr Kakeeto says.
The Managing Director of
And now that he is in a seat where one of his roles will be to devise policies the sector can work with, Mr Kakeeto's work seems cut out.
"So there is still plenty of work to do in order to curb e-Fraud," he says.
Mr Kakeeto was last week elected to succeed Citibank's Sarah Arapta in the bankers' top seat having served as her deputy prior to.
While e-Fraud is one thing that bankers keep looking over their shoulders for, one of those they face head-on is the challenge of growing a large base of good borrowers.
Mr Kakeeto says this is one area they must continue working on collectively.
"Credit expansion thrives in an environment of ability and willingness to pay back what you borrow," he says. "A good credit culture spurs credit growth."
The industry is also faced with high operational costs or overheads as result of overall high cost of doing business manifested in many ways like delay in settlement of arrears, or delay in disposal of litigation cases or poor infrastructure limiting accessibility.
"Additionally, today we are all faced with climate related challenges," Kakeeto says. "In the banking sector, climate challenges expose credit portfolio to various risks."
Kakeeto and his executive of
The banking sector is at the forefront of supporting several pillars of the economy that are detailed in the National Development Plan III - including boosting exports and import substitution, development in transport and energy, as well as tourism.
The banking industry appears stable and resilient and the Supervised Financial Institutions with Tiers I, II and III have only recently published their first quarter financial performance that reflects overall growth of the industry.
Total assets for the SFI industry have grown by 7.5 percent from Shs45.8 trillion to Shs49.5 trillion, while non performing loan ratio reduced from 5.3 percent in 2022 to 4.6 percent as at
Aggregate industry profitability also grew from Shs1.2 trillion recorded in 2022 to Shs1.4 trillion in 2023.
"There is continued investment in ICT and delivery channels especially digital channels," he says.
The industry nearly doubled spend in ICT at Shs694 billion in 2023 compared to Shs392 billion in 2022.
In a sector that is increasingly being driven by advancement in technology and one where banks have to reinvent to compete against several financial digital technologies, investment in ICT will likely continue to define Mr Kakeeto's executive.
The banking sector will have to do so with eye on opportunities beyond the conventional clients such a huge unbanked population that remains in the economy and businesses such as in the SME sector that present numerous unsatisfied needs.
But of more interest for the sector could be opportunities opening up in line with the growth of the economy in areas such as oil and gas, construction and real estate, agro-processing and manufacturing, and infrastructure development.
Kakeeto says even the services Industry is really growing by leaps and bounds, citing hospitality, health, education and ICT services.
"The industry is well positioned to harness these opportunities arising from the increased levels of capitalisation coupled with the digitisation," he says.
The new executive will also seek to ensure that the banking sector pushes ahead with facilitating trade through foreign correspondent banking relationships.
"We are living in an era where business sustainability is a priority. The newly elected executive will prioritise embracing the environmental, social and governance framework as this enhances the sector's responsibility to society, its customers, and stakeholders," Mr Kakeeto says.
The seasoned banker has been the managing director and chief executive officer of Post Bank Uganda since
Before that, from 2015 until 2019, he was the managing director and CEO of to I&M Bank Uganda (formerly
Before joining I&M, he served as the Finance Director at
Since his appointment at
Kakeeto holds a Master of Business Administration degree from
He is a Fellow of the
"Our banking sector has a lot to offer to drive economic growth and prosperity in
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