PostBank Board and Management have had an early Christmas after Bank Of Uganda issued the bank license to operate as a tier one commercial bank.
Based on the Financial Institutions Act (2004) definition of a commercial bank, PostBank shall no longer be categorized as a credit institution but as a deposit taking financial institution that gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. Below are some of the services offered by a (tier one) commercial bank.
Acceptance of call, demand, savings, and time deposits withdrawable by cheque or otherwise
Provision of overdrafts and short to medium term loans
Provision of foreign exchange facilities; Acceptance and discounting of bills of exchange
Provision of financial and investment advice
Participation in inter-bank clearing systems
Give guarantees, bonds or other forms of collateral, and accept and place third party drafts and promisory notes connected with operations in which they take part
With the new management’s goal to strengthen the PostBank’s foundation, efforts have been put into digital transformations that will improve customer experience. With these changes at the Bank, it was inevitable that the institution would optimize its potential and ably compete with the aggressive privately owned financial institutions.
“What we have been doing is building the foundation- a solid foundation, because with a very solid foundation, you can do so many things including competitiveness and growth” said the CEO/MD Julius Kakeeto on his last interview with the press.
A rigorous restructuring process gave the institution competitive edge with a new Board of Directors and several top-class bankers joining senior management and were able to make a net profit of 10Bn, which is the highest in the Bank’s history. This makes PostBank one of the exemplary government agencies.
The new management team has focused on improving risk management , strengthening governance, customer experience, enforcing compliance and kickstarting the bank’s digital journey, in addition to capacity building for the workforce.
The Bank says it owes this milestone to its customers, staff, the shareholders and all the external stakeholders who have supported this journey.