Africa-Press – Uganda. Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services (UIBFS), formerly the Uganda Institute of Bankers, experienced a revenue deficit of shs205m for the period ended December 31, 2020.
The deficit, according to Mr Michael Mugabi, the institute’s chairman, was partly occasioned by Covi-19 disruptions that affected students’ capacity to sufficiently pay tuition as a well as a reduction in student numbers.
Speaking during the institute’s annual general meeting at which 82 students that had undertaken professional and academic courses graduated, Mr Mugabi, said the financial resilience of the institute required strengthening after registering a 30 per cent decline in revenue in 2020.
During the period, he said, only Shs1.5b was reaslised down from Shs2.1b in 2019, noting that: “Overall the institute registered a deficit of Shs205.4m compared to the deficit position of Shs119m in 2019. This was due to significant reduction in revenue due to Covid-19 disruption on training activities throughout the year.”
Covid-19, which was first declared in Uganda in March last year, has caused immeasurable disruptions on the general outlook of the economy particularly in the education and tourism sectors among others.
The institute is largely engaged in training and education much of which was curtailed by Covid-19 standard operating procedures.
Mr Mugabi, however, said they have remained optimistic, as the institute is an important anchor in the banking and financial sector.
Ms Goretti Masadde, the institute’s chief executive officer, said there have been concerns over inability by many industry professionals to analyse financial reports, noting: “This [was] a matter of concern for the sector” that needs urgent and collective attention.
“The pass rate for certified professional banker course were 88 per cent. Diploma in microfinance were 94 per cent, certified credit management, 91 per cent and chartered banker, 61 per cent,” she said.
