Union Bank of Cameroon Plc last Saturday August 22, 2009 held its 8th Annual General Meeting in the seaside town of Limbe, precisely at Fini Hotel, during which the bank’s 2008 accounts were discussed an approved.

This meeting, being the first of its kind after the partnership agreement with Oceanic Bank International, saw the attendance of at least 96% of the shareholders. The meeting that was sort of a trustworthy relationship building experience equally gave the historic shareholders the opportunity to meet and know who their new management team was consisted of.

After the interesting and brilliant report presented by the chairman of the Board, the shareholders were equally pleased with the reorganization so far put in place and envisaged by management. The General Manager’s market and budget presentations also thrilled the shareholders as it gave a broader picture of where the bank is moving to, while explaining what strategies management intends to use to achieve the set targets. Worth mentioning is the fact that, the gender equality presently existing in the bank was highly appreciated in the present management style.

It should be recalled that this meeting came on the heels of some reports of the banking scandal that affected some five top banks in Nigeria amongst which Oceanic Bank International is listed. However, the presence of some senior Directors from Nigeria, and their exposé on the actual situation of our partners reassured the shareholders of their secured investment.

Worthy of note is the fact that, Union Bank of Cameroon is supervised by COBAC which is the regulatory body of the CEMAC region, thus, little or no impact could be felt in relation with crisis in the West African region. Besides, the action was a pre-emptive measure taken by the risk management expert and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to ward-off any danger in the sector considering the current global economic crunch.

Due to some unforeseen lapses in the organization of this Assembly session, which shall be amended in subsequent sittings, the need for continuous staff development and training was highlighted for management’s future actions.