In his opening statement, Pa Macoumba Njie, president of the Gambia Bankers Association and chairman of the board of trustees of the Institute of Bankers of The Gambia told delegates at the Ocean Bay Red Croc Hotel: “This draft Act was prepared by the legal adviser and board member of the Institute of Bankers of The Gambia. It was circulated for scrutiny and comments by all the key stakeholders including the Central Bank of The Gambia, the University of The Gambia, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, the National Training Authority, the managing directors of all the commercial banks and members of the board of trustees of the Institute of Bankers of The Gambia. One of the main objectives in establishing the institute is to develop it into a fully-fledged chartered institute of bankers and set it to a level where it will become a world class professional training and examinations centre for bankers in The Gambia and beyond.
Mr Njie, who is the head of Trust Bank Limited added: “The Institute of Bankers of The Gambia is the training arm of the Gambia Bankers Association. It was established in 2010 to provide quality training in banking and finance in line with international standards. The Gambia with 12 banks operating in the industry will continue to need the services of banking professionals. The increase in the number of banks within this relatively short period of time has not been matched by a corresponding increase in the number of professional bankers. This is a very important phase in the history of banking in The Gambia and underscored by the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Central Bank of The Gambia and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. The institute has a two-pronged approach to training including the provision of long term training and training of bank employees on a monthly basis. As the institute grows, there is need to acquire autonomy and this is why we are working towards the attainment of a legal status as a chartered institute.”
Mamour Malick Jagne, executive secretary of the Gambia Bankers Association and registrar of the Institute of Bankers of The Gambia said: “This bill is a logical follow-up by the Gambia Bankers Association on the commitment of bank managing directors to train their staff to international standards. When it becomes an Act of the National Assembly, Gambians will no longer need to travel overseas to study to become chartered bankers. Students in the sub-region can also be attracted to come to The Gambia to study. The Gambia Bankers Association is aware that banking is a knowledge-based industry and harbours many technicalities. Anyone coming into the industry must be teachable and prepared to learn.”
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