Kalikumutima & Co. Advocates conducted a training on security documentation and perfection for Stanbic Bank Uganda staff on 15th October 2022 at Umoja House, Nakasero road, Kampala. The Kalikumutima & Co. Advocates Chief Executive Partner, Attorney Deo Kalikumutima, Advocate Geraldine Nakazibwe, Advocate Musayuni Patience Opolot, Advocate Alfred Muyaaka and Advocate Deklerk Luyima were the facilitators of the one-day training.
‘Risk can take away anything including reputation, If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesn’t matter what business you are in, it’s a risky business.” Gary Cohn. The training came at a time when there is a global increase in incidents of fraud, identity theft and falsified documents. Falsification of documents is worse in emerging markets due to system inefficiencies. According to the 2021 Uganda Police annual crimes report, 10,057 cases were reported under economic crimes. 629 cases were of forgery and uttering of false documents while 8,096 cases were of obtaining money by false pretence.
Attorney Deo Kalikumutima noted that the role of collateral goes beyond the day-one scenario and requires management throughout the life of the loan.
The training also covered current legal dynamics in credit collateral and security documentation. Advocate Geraldine Nakazibwe noted that risk management is critical for all financial institutions and legal awareness helps in increasing vigilance amongst staff before, during and after offering a credit facility. Citing the words of John Stumpf, Advocate Geraldine Nakazibwe emphasized that if a bank wants to be the best in the financial services industry, it needs to be the best in risk management and credit quality. It’s the foundation for every other measure of success and there’s almost no room for error.
Attorney Deo Kalikumutima advised the participants to always be on guard and on the lookout for proof of payment of statutory fees, dates, filing deadlines, property descriptions in certificates of title, agreements and personal identification documents.
At the end of the training, the Stanbic Bank staff attested to have acquired impeccable skills in fraudulent documents identification, document authentication processes and legal expectations. The Stanbic Bank staff key take aways were vigilance, importance of proper documentation in helping to improve transactions turnaround time and deadlines plus handling operational risks. All the participants acknowledged that collateral is a twin to lending and because of the risks involved, there is a need for better documentation management and periodic trainings on security documentation and perfection.