david g opiokello : the aftermath of the financial crisis and the way forward closing remarks by mr david g opiokello, deputy governor of the bank of uganda, at the 3rd annual bankers ’ dinner, kampala, 7 may 2010. * * * introduction ladies and gentlemen, the inclusion of the word “ aftermath ” in the title of this talk implies that the global financial crisis which erupted in 2008 is now over. that is probably true in respect of the most acute manifestation of the crisis – the systemic failures in key financial markets around the globe – but the repercussions of the financial crisis will be felt for many years to come ; and this applies to countries, such as uganda, which were relatively less badly affected by it as well as to countries where the impact was very severe. in this talk, i want to sketch out what i think are the key lessons of the global financial crisis for uganda and how this will shape the development of the banking sector in uganda in the medium to long term. in doing so i must, inevitably, be selective : there is not sufficient time to even begin to touch on all of the potential consequences and lessons of the financial crisis, so instead i will focus on what i believe are the issues which are most germane for the ugandan banking sector. the ugandan banking system and the impact of the financial crisis the uganda banking system, which still dominates the financial sector in uganda, grew rapidly in the years preceding the outbreak of the global financial crisis. this growth was manifested in financial deepening, measured by banking system liabilities as a share of gdp, and even more so in the growth of bank loans to the private sector. the latter doubled as a share of gdp between 2000 and 2008 and loans also increased as a share of commercial banks ’ asset portfolios. these were very positive developments for the ugandan economy ; reflecting the growing role of banks in the intermediation of funds from creditors to borrowers. for a variety of reasons the ugandan banking system was not affected severely by the global financial crisis. although it has links with global financial markets, the nature of these links helped to insulate it from contagion emanating from the meltdown in financial markets elsewhere in the world ; a point i will return to later. secondly, although the ugandan economy was hit by a large external shock in the 2008 / 09 fiscal year as a result of the global economic crisis, it was able to ride out this shock

bank of uganda opening remarks by : prof. emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile governor, bank of uganda, at the hosting of the parliament of ghana finance committee members at a benchmarking exercise to bank of uganda, board room, level 7, plot 37 / 45 kampala road, uganda thursday, september 27, 2018 honourable members of parliament, parliament of uganda ; honourable members of parliament, parliament of ghana ; technical staff from both parliaments ; ladies and gentlemen, good morning, i would like to welcome you all to the bank of uganda. it is a privilege to host our brothers and sisters from ghana, a country which holds a special status in africa on account of the pioneering role it has played in many different fields - political, economic and social – and in particular for its pan africanist approach to foreign policy which has been an inspiration throughout the continent. ghana ’ s pioneering role is also of relevance in the field of central banking. the bank of ghana was one of the first central banks in subsaharan africa to introduce an inflation targeting monetary policy framework in the mid 2000s, at a time when virtually all other central banks in the region were either implementing monetary targets or targeting the exchange rate. ghana ’ s experience with inflation targeting was of great value to the bank of uganda and influenced its decision to adopt a similar monetary policy framework in 2011 ; a framework which has proved very successful in controlling inflation. given that our guests are all legislators, i would like to say a few words about the relationship between parliament and the central bank, as this relationship is complex and not always well understood. the 1995 ugandan constitution confers independence on the bank of uganda. specifically the constitution states that : “ in performing its functions, the bank of uganda shall conform to this constitution but shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority. ” what does this mean in practice? in essence it means that the bank of uganda is free to implement its core policy responsibilities, which are monetary policy and bank regulation, without political interference. for example, the government cannot give instructions to the bank of uganda with regard to setting the policy interest rate. there is a very strong economic rationale for central bank independence, because independence gives monetary policy and bank regulation more credibility with the private sector, which in turn improves incentives for the private sector to act in ways which are consistent with low inflation and financial stability. this is why central bank independence has become an important characteristic of modern central banking around