DPF courtesy visit to Bank of India – September 15, 2023

The Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda (DPF) paid a courtesy visit to Bank of India on September 15, 2023. The DPF team was led by Mr. Balaam Ssempala, Director Information Technology who represented the Chief Executive Officer and it comprised of Mr. Patrick Ezaga, Director Communications and Mr. Yusuf Mukiibi, Director Finance and Operations. The Bank of India team was composed of Mr. Sameer Ranjan Behera, Executive Director and Mr. Julius Kiggundu, Ag. Managing Director.

Mr. Balaam Ssempala, right, giving his remarks during the engagement held at Bank of India offices.

Mr. Ssempala appreciated Bank of India for being responsive to engagements with DPF and noted that continued collaboration was vital in contributing to sustained growth and stability of the sector. He informed the team that the Depositor Payout and Premium management System had been rolled out and noted that the Fund was working smoothly with the persons charged with uploading single customer view data at Bank of India. Mr. Ssempala added that together with Bank of Uganda, the Fund was conducting joint inspections, focusing on a number of areas including compliance with the single customer view project.

Mr. Yusuf Mukiibi (right) speaking during the engagement.

Mr. Yusuf Mukiibi expounded on DPF’s mandate noting that updated customer records were crucial for the Fund to effectively and efficiently execute its primary mandate of being a deposit insurance scheme for customers of Contributing Institutions.

Mr. Patrick Ezaga (second right), explains a point during the engagement.

Mr. Ezaga lauded Bank of India for adhering to the requirement of prominently displaying DPF posters in the banking hall. He drew their attention to ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Financial Institutions Act relating to public awareness and information sharing. He urged Bank of India management to support the Fund’s public awareness efforts through its ongoing activities including engagement with the frontline staff (which can be both physical or online) and interlinkage of the two institutions’ websites. On the latter, he informed the team that all Contributing Institutions’ logos and links were displayed on the DPF website and as such, a reciprocal gesture by Bank of India would be very much appreciated. Regarding the bank’s media advertisements, Mr. Ezaga emphasized that it was important to ensure correctness of the messages, especially those to be aired in local languages.

Mr. Sameer Ranjan (left) giving his remarks during the engagement.

On his part, Mr. Sameer appreciated the DPF team for the visit and for their efforts towards the stability of the financial sector. He confirmed to the DPF team that Bank of India was committed to cooperate with the Fund in its public awareness efforts as well as continue ensuring compliance with the Fund’s requirements. He welcomed the Fund’s efforts to engage with frontline staff and noted that they would reach out on this arrangement, especially the online option.