Bankers urged to maintain ethics amid economic downturn

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Practitioners in the banking and financial services industry have been urged to maintain their ethics amid the current slowdown in economic activity, the Executive Director for Supervision at the Bank of Uganda – Dr Twinemanzi Tumubweine – has said.

While addressing bankers during a dialogue on Conduct and Ethics in the Financial Services Industry organised by Absa Bank Uganda, Dr Twinemanzi said, “The pace of economic recovery has significantly slowed down and geopolitical tensions – both in Europe and with our neighbours – are at an all-time high. With all these factors that are out of your control and with pressures to meet your targets, the first casualty in this situation is ethics.”

He went ahead to urge them to maintain impeccable ethics since they are the custodians of other peoples’ money and their reputations and integrity depended on their ability to command trust among both businesses and individuals.

Organised under the theme: “Ethics, The Backbone of a Sustainable Business”, the dialogue brought together professionals from different banks to share insights on the challenges faced in building cultures of ethics and what could be done to address them.

While making a presentation on global trends in ethics, Phumelele Zwane – Absa Group’s Head of Ethics, said ethical culture trends around the world continue to improve as more companies become more intentional about improving their ethical culture.

Mumba Kalifungwa, Absa Bank Uganda’s Managing Director encouraged further collaboration among sector players towards strengthening the culture of ethics within the industry and addressing the ever-changing nature of ethical practices.

“Ethics transcend the entire banking sector and are important to every one of us. The environment in which we are living is very fluid, and what worked yesterday will not keep us where we are trying to go in the future.”