'HOW DEPOSIT MOBILISATION IMPACTED NEGATIVELY ON TRAINING'

By NBF News

The effect of the aggressive deposit mobilisation introduced into the banking sector after the 2006 consolidation has remained a cause for concern for the Association of Professional Women Bankers.

The executive of the APWB, whose members have been at the receiving end of the sector's aggressive deposit mobilisation, said the development eroded training in the industry.

Speaking in Lagos on Monday, the President of APWB, Mrs. Taiwo Ige, said the banking sector had not been the same since 2006 after the Central Bank of Nigeria directed the banks to recapitalise.

She said new employees, especially females, who were supposed to be given proper banking orientation, were hurriedly sent out to mobilise deposits, thereby encouraging them to dress indecently.

Ige, who spoke against the backdrop of the association's forthcoming conference with the theme, 'Professionalism, Ethics and Integrity,' said the APWB was putting up the conference as part of reorientation for fresh bank employees on ways to behave and dress properly outside the school environment.

According to her, 'The issue of professionalism and ethics has become necessary after the global meltdown, and you will agree with me that since 2006 when we had consolidation, banking has not been the same.

'In the era of unhealthy competition, we had cases of bank workers being given unhealthy targets. They go all out to meet the target, and deposit mobilisation affected training. That was why most ladies started dressing indecently. This is one of the reasons we are bringing Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa to address us during the conference.'

She recalled that professional integrity and ethical behaviour were crucial for personal credibility and professional success within the business world, saying that the banking profession was not an exception.

She said personal credibility would allow one to build effective relationships based on mutual respect and trust, delivering to deadlines and achieving results, adding that professional integrity meant that one would operate in a professional and ethical manner within the workforce, 'regardless of whatever situation one is faced with.'

Ige, who said that the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Ms. Helen Oputu, would be the guest speaker at the conference, noted that banking was a noble profession with a code of conduct guiding its practice. She said integrity as a concept had to do with perceived consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principle, expectations and outcome.

According to her, 'We are mindful of the fact that employers value an employee that has moral and ethical values. An employee that does not have good work ethic can be damaging to a company and hurt its public and professional image. For someone to have strong ethics, he must be able to overcome human rationalisation, ego and any weaknesses he has.

'It is in light of this that our association has deemed it fit to bring in respectable people of high standards to come and talk to our members on the need to continue to imbibe the culture of good ethical behaviours, professional conduct and integrity in the discharge of their duties.'