Dfcu told to provide affordable services

Dfcu managing director Juma Kisaame, Tullow Uganda general manager Jimmy Mugerwa, Vice President Edward Ssekandi, Finance minister Matia Kasaija and the bank’s board chair Elly Karuhanga cut a cake to unveil dfcu Towers in Kampala on Tuesday. PHOTO BY DOMINIC BUKENYA

Kampala- Dfcu group has unveiled its Shs55 billion home, with a call to provide affordable and tailor-made services.

Speaking during the opening of the dfcu tower on Wednesday, Finance minister Matia Kasaija said the bank is among the top five financial institutions in the country, thanks to the long term credit it extends to key sectors of the economy.

According to Mr Kasaija, the bank has demonstrated its ability in long term lending as evidenced in sectors such as health, education and agriculture, let alone manufacturing and horticulture, among others.

That notwithstanding, Mr Kasaija said the cost of banking services and related charges has negatively impacted on the general development of the industry, urging the financial institutions to reduce on such exorbitant costs.

He said: “… it is also a fact that the cost of borrowing has remained high partly owing to the prevailing macro-economic imbalances but also attributed to inefficiencies in the banking system.

“I appeal to the commercial banks to enhance their technology platforms, risk management practices and efficiency of their operations so as to make their products and services more affordable to the public.”

He continued: “This will help the banks reach out further to the unbanked population and of course make more money as your customer base grows.”

The Vice President, Mr Edward Ssekandi, who represented President Museveni, said modernisation of agriculture will inevitably require financing, and therefore dfcu should take up the lead in that regard.

He challenged the bank and the financial sector to innovate more especially in the area of inclusive banking so as to bring more and more Ugandans into the formal banking sector.

He said: “The banks in Uganda need to leverage technology and collaborate with other solution providers to build an integrated financial services platform that can deliver efficient services to customers at a modest cost.”