DPF joins other financial sector players to commemorate the World Savings Day 2023 – October 31, 2023
The Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda (DPF) joined financial sector players, stakeholders and the rest of the world in commemorating the World Savings Day on October 31, 2023. This year’s event was commemorated under the theme, “Personal Financial Wellness; Take and Live the Pledge” with the objective of rallying the public to commit to taking on a savings culture. Mr. Patrick Onen Ezaga, Director Communications, represented the Chief Executive Officer at the event organized by the Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services (UIBFS), in partnership with Bank of Uganda and Uganda Bankers Association (UBA).
Mr. Ezaga noted that the Fund was pleased to be part of the savings drive and encouraged the public to save in regulated and supervised financial institutions. He informed the participants that DPF is mandated to ensure that depositors are paid their protected deposits of up to UGX 10 million in the event of failure or closure of a contributing institution regulated by the Bank of Uganda. “Our consistent appeal to the public is that those who are still keeping their money in the unsafe unregulated establishments or in their homes should have confidence in the financial system and move their money to regulated institutions”, Mr. Ezaga said.
In his keynote address, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, the Deputy Governor, who was also the Chief Guest at the event, noted that regulated financial service providers ensure the security of customer savings and help to preserve value by paying interest on the deposits. He said, “Saving money without earning a reasonable return, e.g., in a pot or under a mattress, is unwise because the amount stays fixed while the prices of goods and services typically keep increasing year in and year out. And if we accept that ‘money is what money does”, the money in a pot does less and less as time goes by.” He further implored the public to save their money in formal and regulated financial institutions such as commercial banks, credit institutions and microfinance deposit-taking institutions, which Bank of Uganda regulates.
Speaking at the same event, Mr. Wilbrod Owor, the Executive Director of Uganda Bankers Association, challenged financial institutions to develop innovative financial products which match the expectations of the technologically driven and diverse population that Uganda is. “The safest place to keep money is a regulated institution. There’s Bank of Uganda that supervises the institutions and DPF, to pay protected deposits if need arose. So, the job of the banking institutions is to give the public confidence knowing that there’s always a fallback position, in case anything happened, as well as develop innovative products for customers.”
In addition to commemorating World Savings Day, the event doubled as the launch of the Banking and Financial Services Awareness Month Season 4, by the Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services (UIBFS).
