Abu Dhabi’s Finest
Katahwire Hakim has been a retail banker for over
six years, working his way up the ranks at PostBank
in Uganda to using the CRB qualification to
accelerate his career and join Finance House PJSC
in Abu Dhabi. Katahwire took time out to speak to
us about how he got to where he is today and his
experience with RBA.
Katahwire Hakim, CRB
Q. Tell us about your journey as
a retail banker so far
A. I started my career in banking in
2011 as a direct sales executive with
PostBank Uganda, and due to my hard
work and commitment I was given a
chance to work as a bank teller. From
there I was offered the opportunity
to join DFCU Bank, one of the largest
commercial banks in Uganda with over
60 branches across the country.
With DFCU bank being a larger bank,
there were numerous opportunities for
career progression. While working here,
I decided to take the next step in my
career by enrolling on to Retail Banking
I. I was then promoted to teller service
manager before moving to the UAE.
While in UAE, I joined Abu Dhabi-based
finance company Finance House PSJC
as personal finance officer in 2015 and
have recently been promoted again to
coordinator of AECB.
Q. What was your motivation for
starting your journey to become
a CRB?
A. I have always wanted to become
a professional in my field, similar to
accountants. So when I looked for
the right courses in my field, the CRB
qualification was the one that most
reflected my ambitions. I needed a
course that would make me stand out
and also enable me to compete on a
global scale.
Q. How did the CRB qualification
fit within your wider career
plans?
A. CRB is unique, and it’s an international
banking certification. It has helped me a
lot in securing my recent roles, as I have
always stood out among my peers. It is
a purely customer-centric course that
covers the entire retail banking field
and this has enabled me to become a
high achiever in both standards and
performance.
Q. How do you think the CRB
qualification
sits within the retail banking
industry as a
whole?
A. CRB is a global retail banking
certification. The course content covers
a very wide scope in the retail banking
operations and equips students
with unparalleled knowledge of
international best practices.
Q. What do you think of the
course content?
A. The overall course content is
beneficial to my daily work, especially
the customer relationship management
and customer-managed relationships
modules. It’s helped me immensely in
improving my customer service offering
and also in building and maintaining
my customer portfolio.
Q. How has it impacted your
overall view on
your job and the retail banking
profession?
A. This course has helped me secure almost
all of the roles I applied for, because I am
able to stand above my peers. I also feel I
am well respected and I carry out my duties
with much greater confidence.
www.retailbanking-academy.org
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