The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has intensified efforts in training its members to enhance professionalism in the banking sector.
Enugu State Chairman of the Institute, Dr. Iheanyi Nwogu, stated at the 2022 yearly general meeting of the branch, at the weekend, that the decision followed the realisation that a lot of people have found themselves in the sector without the rudiments of banking.
He stated that a committee was currently overseeing the training of young bankers to certify them to become professionals in the sector, adding that training and professional examinations had become more regular.
“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 train them to know the WHY in what they do”, he said.
Nwogu added that the branch had grown in membership by over 120 per cent, created the branch website and social media handles and was on the verge of setting up a secretariat in Enugu. He tasked members to leverage innovations to grow the profession and membership.
Also speaking on the need for professionalism in the banking sector, Enugu state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Dr. Ugwunta Okelue, commended the institute for designing programs aimed at supporting non-professionals in the sector, stressing that knowledge of the rudiments of banking would improve productivity and impact the economy.
Okelue, observed that the banking sector had over the years been infested with members of other professions like Engineering, Political Sciences, and Mass Communication among others, stressing that the Institute should leverage the spread for the betterment of the sector.
“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.
