BICEC Internship Report

A report on my Internship at the Head Office of BICEC, Douala
Written by PAUL BIKELEL MATEMB Page 1
DECLARATION.
Thisisto declarethat,I,PAULBIKELELMATEMB,studentoftheDepartmentofeconomicsintheFacultyofBusinessand
ManagementSciencesoftheCatholicUniversityof Cameroon(CATUC),Bamenda,withMatriculationN°81012,carriedout
a 2 monthsinternshipat theLoansManagementservice,attheheadofficeofBICEC.
ThisreportissubmittedinpartialfulfillmentfortheawardofaBachelorofScience(B.Sc.)inEconomics,andI declarethat
thisis writtenby me.
Sign: Date:
PAUL BIKELELMATEMB (Intern)

DEDICATION
I PAUL BIKELELMATEMB HEREBYDEDICATETHISPIECEOF WORK TOTHEALMIGHTY GOD WHO GAVE ME THE
STRENGTHTOwriteTHISREPORT,andentryintotheinstitutionwhereI didmy internship,withoutforgetting my
parents;MR and Mrs. MATEMB PAUL,WHO SPONSORED METHROUGHOUT MY EDUCATIONAL CAREER.Maythe
almightylord god Jesus Christblessthemandgivethemlong life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With thistypeof activity andits nature,itcouldnot havebeen DONE singlehandedly. So,withsupportfrommanyangles
indeedcontributedtothecompletionofthisreport.Unfortunately,notallcontributorscanbementioned;nevertheless,
they willalways be withinme.
Tobegin, I thanktheAlmighty GOD for hisprotectionandhisloveandforgiving me thehealthandthestrength tocarry
outthisexercise. FurthermoreI willnowgive a heavythankstomy family forthespiritual,moral,financial,physical
supporttheyofferedtome.Mydearestofparents mymother (Mrs.PAULINEmatemb) andmy father(Mr.matembpaul).
My appreciationgoestoallthestaff membersoftheloansmanagementserviceorsap(Service d’administration desprets)
ofbicec bank whomademy studyexperiencevery favorableandconducive,especially Mr.diboaMondo (headoftheloans
managementservice),MR.Bonnymatanda ADRIEN(mysupervisor),Mr.njohdipitaManfred, Mr.tonyesimon,missngop-
loti Frederiquehelene,andtheotherstaffmembersofthe LOANSmanagementservice whosenamesI didn’tmention.

Abbreviations used
1) Bicec:Bank INTERNATIONALEDU CAMEROUN POUR L’epargne etle creditorinternationalBankof
cameroonforsavingsandloans
2) Bicic :BANQUE INTERNATIONALEPOUR LE COMMERCE ETL’INDUSTRIE ducamerounorinternational
Bank ofcameroon forcommerceandindustry
3) Bpce: BANQUE POPULAIRE,caissesd’epargne
4) SME: SmallandMedium size Enterprises
5) Smi:Smalland Mediumsize Industries
6) COBAC: CommissionbancairedeL’AfriqueCentrale orBanking Commissionof CentralAfrica.
7) BEAC: BanquedesEtatsdel’Afrique centraleorBank ofCentralAfricanstates

TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE
1.0Justification of the Internship
1.1 Background information on BICEC
1.2 Mission of BICEC
1.3 Vision of BICEC
1.4 Objectives of BICEC
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 2.0 The General presentation of BICEC
2.1 The Loans Management Service
2.2 Comparison between theory and practice
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 3.0 Products and Services offered by BICEC
3.1 Main activities/Functions of BICEC
3.2 Customers and Competitors of BICEC
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Situation Analysis of BICEC( SWOT Analysis)
4.1 SLEPT Analysis (Social, Legal, Economic, Political, Technological)
4.1Discussions and Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 Evaluation of the Internship: Limitations and successes of the internship
5.1 Recommendations
5.2Conclusion
CHAPTER I
1.0 justification of internship
This internship is carried out in partial fulfillment of my 3years B.Sc. (Bachelor of
Science) program in Economics.Also, I am carrying out this internship to; develop skills
and techniques directly applicable to my career and to understand informal organizational
and interpersonal relationships in a corporate setting.
1.1 Background Information on BICEC
BICEC Bank is a public limited company with a share capital of 12billion FRANCS CFA,
whichwas created on March, 14th 1997, following the liquidation of BICIC that took place
under particularly challenging economic circumstances. It was indeed necessary to
restructure BICIC given that the economic crisis of the 80s and 90s did not spare it.
On March 1997, the Board of Directors of BICIC decided to establish BICEC, whose
management was entrusted to Banquepopulaire Group which accomplished its mission
well and its mission was; making the bank profitable and paving the way for its
privatization in 3 years.
In 2000, BICEC became a subsidiary of Banquepopulaire Group. Since 2011, BICEC has
continued benefiting from the extensive experience brought about by the merging of the
BPCE Banking Groups.

Today, BICEC is a major stakeholder in the Cameroonian banking sector with a solid
overall performance.
1.2Mission of BICEC
BICEC’s mission is to make her presence felt in the Cameroonian banking sector by
providing services and products like no other bank in Cameroon. She wishes to be an
outstanding bank in terms of quality of services. BICEC’s mission statement is, “la
presence bancaire au Cameroun”, meaning the Banking presence in Cameroon.
1.3 Vision of BICEC
BICEC’s vision is to resume its leading position in the Cameroonian banking market and
become the first bank in terms of profitability and quality of services. Her vision is at the
Head of her 3years strategic plan named; “s’affirmerdurablement” or assert sustainably
1.4 Objectives of BICEC
The primary objective of any private-sector business organization such as a Bank like
BICEC is to realise profits, therefore BICEC’s primary objective would normally be profit
maximization or profit-making. The secondary objectives of BICEC as stated in its 3years
strategic plan are;
 Reaching a stock of 382,000 customers by 2017, since she has a stock of 210,000
customers as of now.
 670billion FCFA of outstanding deposits and 524billion FCFA ofoutstanding
credits (Loans) by 2017. In reaching this outstanding level, the Bank aims at
increasing its market share which would fall within 18.30% for Uses and 20.72%
for resources.
 A Net BankingIncome of 58billion FCFA by 2017.
 A Gross Operating Income of approximately 30 billion FCFA by 2017
 A Net profit of 15.6billion FCFA by 2017 despite a risks cost of 5billion FCFA

CHAPTER II
2.0 The General presentation of BICEC
The organizational structure of BICEC accounts for organizational growth, profitability, and
success. Thus BICEC has been efficient and successful over the years as a result of its
organizational structure and managerial system.
BICEC is structured around 3 poles:
 Decision-making Pole:
o Board of Directors
o Head Office
o Executive Committee
 Operational Pole:
o General Secretariat

o Central Departments
o Divisions
 The Network :
o Littoral Regional Office
o Centre/South/East Regional Head Office
o West Regional Head Office
o NorthRegional Head Office
o South West Regional Head Office
The various poles are managed by men and women who incessantly adopt strategies to:
 Offer customers modern products and services adapted to market conditions,
 Provide excellent customer services to its clientele
 Ensure Customer responsiveness
 Consolidate its presence across the national territory of Cameroon.
The organogram of BICEC’s Executive Committee or Management Committee is presented
below;
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
o
Chairman of the Board of Directors
General Manager
Deputy General Manager
Central Director of
Production
Director of Central
OrganizationandData Bank
Director of Business
Development

r
1.
Under the control of Central Director of Network you have;
 The Regional Director of Littoral
 The Regional Director of Centre/South/East
 The Regional Director of South West
 The Regional Director of the North
 The Regional Director of the South
Some of the posts on BICEC’s organogram drawn above are explained below;
 Boards of Directors: This is a group of persons elected by the shareholders and are
responsible for the major decisions and policies of the bank, and drawing up the long-
term plans of the Bank
 Board Chairman: He is the president of the Board of Directors. He is also known as
the boss of the bosses
 General Manager: He She is appointed or elected by the board of directors. He or
She manages the affairs of the Bank and he is under the direct supervision of the
Board of Directors.
 Deputy General Manager: He or She is appointed or elected by the board of
directors to assist the general manager and act on his behalf when he is absent.
 Regional Directors: They are in charge of different branches in their area of
Jurisdiction. They supervise and oversee all the activities of the Bank’s branches in a
region.
 Branch Managers: They are in charge of the branch under their control. They
supervise the activities of their respective branches.
The following departments of BICEC are also enumerated below;
SME’s and New
Technologies
Central Director of
the Internal audit
Director of accounts
and Treasury
Director of
Management
Director of Estate
Management
Director of Research
and Decision
Central Director of
Network
Central Director of
Risk and
Compliances
Director of
HumanResources
Director of large
Enterprises and
Marketing

 Department of Risk and Legal Affairs: This department is headed by the Central
Director of Risk and Compliance whose function is to take care of Legal matters
concerning the Bank. This department also handles loan recovery and customers
complain which cannot be handled at branch offices.
 Human Resource Department: This department is in charge of the recruitment,
selection, training and discipline of workers. This department is also in charge of;
recruiting interns, holiday workers and intermediary staff, handling workers
complains, issuing workers ‘pay slip, querying workers. The Human Resource
Director is in charge of this Department
 Department of Internal Audit: This department deals with the internal audit of the
bank. It evaluates the efficiency of the various operations of the Bank. This
department is headed by the director of internal audit.
 Accounts and Treasury Department: This department is in charge of producing the
financial statements of the Bank and keeping record of all the financial transactions of
the Bank.This department ensures all accounting procedures and periodic reports are
updated, prepare the Bank’s financial statements and send them to the Taxation
Department, COBAC and BEAC. This department is headed by the Director of
accounts and Treasury.
 Department of Large Enterprises: This department is in charge of handling the
banking demands of large Enterprises or companies who are customers to BICEC like;
opening or closing an account, applying for a bank loan, financing a project, financing
the purchase of a fixed asset such as an equipment or truck.
2.1 The Loans Management Service
The Loans Management Service is a sub-section of the Litigations and Legal, which is in
charge of issuing Bank guarantees and validating the order to grant loans by computer which
is given by the Department of Decision and file study which studies the file of customers who
apply for a loan. internship It is in this department I did my for 2 months.
2.2 Comparison between Theory and Practice
Actually, what I learned in BICEC didn’t match with the theory I learned in the classroom,
because in the classroom, especially for we the Economics students, they thrill us with a lot of
Mathematics, Statistics, and Economic Models. Meanwhile at BICEC, I learned lot about
Bank guarantees which is a topic taught under banking law, and banking law is for Banking
and Finance Students. However learning about Bank guarantees are worth knowing because
you can’t do a business without dealing with legal issues, even if you know the business
technically, it will always be a problem to you because you are ignorant of the legal issues
surrounding that Business.

However, this internship experience helped me to better understand what I was taught in
Banking and Finance in Level one as some of the things I there were taught to us in this
course.
CHAPTER III
3.0Products and Services offered by BICEC
BICEC does Retail and Corporate Banking that is it offers products and services to
Companies (big corporations, SME’s and SMI’s) and Individuals (Civil servants, Private
sector workers, Students). The products and services BICEC offers to Individuals are:
Products;
 Bank Cards such as VISA Cards, student’s Bank Cards( BICEC Moov)
 E-PAY BOX which is the machine which reads Credit Cards (Carte VISA) given by
BICEC and operated by many shops and supermarkets in the littoral and Center
regions.

Services:
 School fees loan
 Land and House acquisition loan
 Home renovation loans
 Education Bonds( Cautionsscolaire)
 Insurance( Bank loan Insurance policy)
 Car loan
 Real-Estate loan
 Investment Savings or Accounts
 Remote Banking
 Overdrafts
The products and services offered to companies are;
Products: VISA Business Gold Card
Services:
 Bill discounting
 Seasonal loans
 Documentary Credit
 Stand by Letter of Credit
 Spot Credit
 Factoring
 Investment Loans
 Bail BICEC( Lease-purchase Credit)
 Insurance
 Investment Services such as consultancy in Financial Engineering, Negotiation-
compensation Brokerage and many other services that are not mentioned here.
3.1 Main Activities/functions of BICEC
The main activities of BICEC like any other bank is to accept deposits and grant loans, and
deliver other services such as factoring, issuing letters of Credit, issuing Bank guarantees.
Nowadays, BICEC like any other renowned Bank provides a wide range of services, more
than the ones mentioned earlier which are: Granting Lease-Purchase Credits, Investment
Services such as Investment consultancy, Insurance and factoring.
3.2 Customers and Competitors of BICEC
The Cameroonian banking market is very competitive with Banks like Ecobank, UBA, SCB
Cameroon, Standard Chartered Bank, CBC Bank, NFC Bank, Afriland First Bank, UBC and
BICEC Bank who fight relentlessly to be leaders in the market. As, I said earlier, BICEC does

corporate and Retail Banking, meaning that it serves Individuals( Civil servants, Students,
private sector workers, farmers, Entrepreneurs) and Companies( big companies, public
corporations, para statals, SME’s ,SMI’s). BICEC has 210,000 customers and wishes to have
more than that by 2017. She is fighting to regain her position of leader in the Cameroonian
banking market, which was taken by Afriland First Bank.
CHAPTERIV
4.0 Situation Analysis of BICEC using SWOT Analysis
SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT Analysis is a
structured planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats in a Business venture. The Strengths and Weaknesses are the internal factors which
would be favorable and unfavorable which affects BICEC’s performance in the industry, and
the Opportunities and Threats are the favorable and unfavorable external factors which affects
BICEC’s performance in the industry. These factors are as follows;

STRENGTHS:
 Active participation in supporting SME’s ,SMI’s and the Cameroonian economy
 Approximately 90% of employees are young qualified graduates who just graduated
from the University
 BICEC’s financial position has been growing for several years now.
 Supports worker’s shareholding; that is workers can become owners by buying shares
into the Bank which goes a long way to motivate workersand provides a source of
permanent equity capital
WEAKNESSES:
 Difficulties at various levels such as work overload in certain poles
 Poor customer service at the counter level, most especially in the branches in and out
of Douala which I have visited
OPPORTUNITIES:
 Major player in the Cameroonian banking landscape
 Has the most extensive branch network in Cameroon
 There are many people who don’t use banking services in Cameroon yet, and those
people are potential customers to BICEC
THREATS:
 Competitors. The Cameroonian banking industry is very competitive
 Fraudsters and Scammers, like those who use fake Bank Cards (ATM Cards and
Credit Cards: VISA Cards) to withdraw money from the ATM (Automatic Teller
Machine).
4.1SLEPT Analysis
SOCIAL: BICEC i offers equal Employment opportunities to people from all tribes in
Cameroon. The bank is not racist and it operates in an era whereby people do no longer keep
money in their houses but open bank accounts .
LEGAL: BICEC follows the COBAC banking regulations for the running of its daily
operations. Also BICEC is regulated by the Ministry of Finance and COBAC to ensure that
Cameroonians are given the best financial services at the most affordable prices. The price list
of all financial institutions that is the fees and charges for their services is determined by the
Ministry of Finance and is signed by the Ministry of Finance and COBAC.

POLITICAL: BICEC like any other Bank in Cameroon is affected by political decisions like
the appointment of a new General Manager of COBAC will affect the way BICEC deals with
COBAC.
TECHNOLOGICAL:All the branches of BICEC are linked online by Intranet with the help
of Software called DELTA. Almost all the operations of the Bank are done using this
software. Equally, all 35 branches possess ATM (Automatic Teller Machines) machines
which operate 24/7 to facilitate cash withdrawals. BICEC does Internet Banking such that
customers can know their bank history just in one click. BICEC also sends SMS alerts to its
customers to update them on their current account balance.
BICEC offers credit cards such as the VISA Card which enables customers to purchase goods
and services without necessarily paying for them in cash.
4.2Discussion and Conclusion
I did my internship for 2 months (from the 15th July to 15th September) at the Loans
Management Service, which is in charge of; typing and editing Bank Commitments by
signature, putting in place; loans and other commitments of the Bank. It is the final stage of
the bank’s production process. This service is at the Head Office When I arrived at the Loans
Management Service, I was handed over to Mr. Bonny Matanda Adrien, one of the Guarantee
Editors of the Loans Management Service, who is in charge of editing Bank Guarantees. He
was my supervisor and guide throughout my internship. My internship was like a kind of
pedagogic program as each staff member of the Loans Management Service lectured me on
what he or she is doing including Mr. BonnyMatanda Adrien. My internship was also an
immersion into the corporate world as I learned what it entails to work in that kind of milieu.
BICEC doesn’t have a particular internship structure, as they take interns in order to help
them in their research for the completion of their final year projects or Theses. However I was
given some little tasks to do, such as;
 Arranging copiesof Bank guarantees that have already been issued to customers into
the file shelf. Each customer has his file were a copy of the Bank guarantee issued to
him is kept, which I arranged into the files shelf

 Removing these copies from the shelf for cancellation when the customer demands,
through a cancellation letter (application letter for the cancellation of a Bank
guarantee).
 Archiving.
Among all the Banks in Cameroon I know BICEC is the only one who is trying to distinguish
herself as a very secured and fraud less Bank.
CHAPTER V
5.0 Evaluation of the Internship: Limitations and Successes

I did my Internship for 2 months at the Loans Management Service, at the Head Office
of BICEC Bank in Douala. It was a nice experience; I learned a lot of things, both
Professional and Social, which will help me in my future professional life. These are
the successes and limitations of the Internship stated below;
Successes and Limitations of the Internship:
a) Successes:
 The workers of the Loans Management Service are very welcoming and simple, they
make you feel free in order to; facilitate your learning, and enjoy your stay at BICEC
Bank.
 I really learned what it takes to work in the corporate world
 I also learned a lot of things from my supervisor who is a restless intellectual always
hunting for more knowledge.
 I learned a lot about working in a company, and a financial company for that matter
such as a Bank like this one.
 I met different people
b) Limitations:
 I was given my badge very late, that is two weeks after my entry to BICEC, interns
who entered after me had their badges, which is not fair
 My peers of the Loans Management service were asking me about my “theme” or my
project thesis which is something that is not obliged for internship reports in the
Anglophone system. In the Anglophone system we do internships not only for thesis
preparation but, also for an immersion into the profession.
5.1Recommendations
I will recommend BICEC to open a suggestion box for her customers and conduct a serious
customer service survey. It is very important because Customer Service is the key in a service
firm such as a Bank. The employees especially the ladies at the counters should take this
suggestion box issue very serious.
5.2 Conclusion
My Internship at BICEC Bank was a nice experience. I learned a lot about Bank Guarantees
which I didn’t learn at school because it’s a topic under banking law which is not part of our
Economics courses. A Bank is a pillar of a country’s monetary system because it is
through the bank that money (coins and Banknotes) is injected into the economy by the
Central Bank (BEAC).In a state, there are two major Economic policies not to joke
with, and they are; the Monetary policy and the Fiscal Policy. In Cameroon, the monetary
is determined by BEAC, and she implements it through the Banks. The Cameroon Banking
system is very minor with many people still to open their Bank accounts and microfinance
institutions which areattracting manypeople with their lower charges, lower lending rates and
high savings account rate, as compared to BICEC’s. However, the Cameroonian Financial

services market gives a choice to the consumer that is he/she can choose to open an account
either in a Bank or in a Microfinance Institution depending on his/her income

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