The School of Finance and Banking (SFB) and the Kenya Institute of Bankers (KIB) have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen the banking sector though provision of skilled and professional personnel.

Stephen N. Anjichi, KIB Executive Director, said that the strategic partnership will help to strengthen the banking sector that lacks professional and skilled personnel to steer it ahead.

"Our partnership has to provide a comprehensive customer care programme,” he said during the official launch of strategic partnership on financial capacity building between the two institutions at SFB in Kigali, recently.

He noted that the partnership will provide tailor made programmes in customer care to help banks paint off the image of poor customer relations that are bullying them in their endeavours to provide good service delivery to clients.

Anjichi said that inadequate customer relations are due to the fact that management is not supportive and not motivative, employees being unhappy with the job, working environment, adding that capacity building and training of such staff and management will solve the problem.

Professor Reid Whitlock, the Rector of SFB, welcomed the partnership saying that the partnership will also provide custodial services that provide specific banking products that the banks want.

"With such trainings from this partnership the banks will be able to get qualified people in credit analysis to minimize defaults, Non Performing Loans and avoid bankruptcy,” he said.

The Rector also noted that the institution had lacked expertise in the banking sector training whereby the banks’ were demands to the school to train personnel had been increasing.

"Now we have enough capability because of this partnership,” he said.

John Waka, Chairman of Kenya Institute of Bankers, noted that the school will also provide capacity in consultancy on specific bank areas by looking at what each bank wants to improve in its service delivery.

"There is need for us to conduct a research and come up with a full report of the views of players and gaps within the sector to appropriately provide expertise,” he said.

According to the understanding, the two institutions will share expertise in areas where each is stronger while KIB will be providing some of its courses at SFB in Kigali.

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