In order to increase professionalism in the banking industry, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has increased its efforts to train its members.
At the branch’s 2022 annual general meeting over the weekend, Dr. Iheanyi Nwogu, the chairman of the Institute in Enugu State, said the decision was made as a result of the realization that many people had entered the sector without having a basic understanding of banking.
In order to certify young bankers as professionals in the industry, he said that a committee was currently in charge of regulating their training. He also noted that training and professional assessments had become more frequent.
“We will continue to ensure we train people and make them imbibe the real culture of professionalism involved in the banking sector. It is not enough to answer a banker. For me, people who work in the bank should be professionals indeed and should know the rudiments of banking.”
We teach kids the purpose behind everything they do, he continued.
The branch, Nwogu said, had increased its membership by almost 120%, established a website and social media accounts, and was almost ready to open a secretariat in Enugu. Members were given the responsibility of using innovations to expand the profession and membership.
Dr. Ugwunta Okelue, the state commissioner for budget and planning in Enugu, also addressed the need for professionalism in the banking industry. He praised the institute for creating programs to assist non-professionals in the industry and emphasized that understanding the basics of banking would increase productivity and have an effect on the economy.
Okelue noted that the banking industry has become overrun with people from various fields throughout the years, including engineering, political science, and mass communication, and he emphasized that the Institute should take advantage of this spread for the sector’s improvement.
“I think it is important because a lot of people who are working in the bank didn’t read Banking and Finance. You have engineers, political scientists and all forms of professionals coming to work in the bank and I think it is important that people who understand the rudiments of the banking job should pass on the knowledge to these so that they can also serve the banking system. I know that when people are well-lettered in what they do, the productivity will be high and at the end of the day; it will be a win-win not just for the CIBN Enugu but the entire nation. So I encourage the bank to go all out and offer free services so that by the time people come and take the training, they can go all out and tell other people and it can lead to an increase in membership drive so that at the end of the day, everybody wins”, he stated.
