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UMB Appoints Nii Amankra Tetteh as Executive Director of Business

ACCRA , June 7, 2021:  Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) is delighted to announce the appointment of Nii Amankra Kwashie Tetteh  as Executive Director , Business.  He will be responsible for leading the growth agenda for the business lines of the Bank. Nii Amankra is a proven leader in the banking industry with a deep, diverse and impactful career track spanning over 19 years, across markets in Africa.

Prior roles in Nii Amankra’s career include executive apex leadership at Bayport Savings & Loans PLC, where he led the transformation agenda and reported the best results in the 18 years of this Institution. Other significant career milestones include over 12 years of progressively senior executive roles within the Barclays Bank Group (now ABSA) including leadership within the Retail and Business Banking in Ghana, and the Barclays Africa Regional Office. Nii Amankra began his banking career at Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, within its Trade Operations unit in 2001. Nii Amankra holds an advanced degree from the China Europe International Business School, Shanghai and Post-Graduate Certificates fom the University of Leicester, UK and IESE, Barcelona  . He is also an alumnus of the University of Ghana, Legon and Mfantsipim School.

Speaking on the appointment, Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO UMB said, “Nii Amankra’s appointment is further testament of momentum and confidence in our growth strategy. We are an indigenous Ghanaian Bank  focused on being the best  and helping our customers  achieve the best of  their aspirations. To attract the highest standard and caliber of Ghanaian talent to our executive team, as we have done here, lends confidence to our strategy and positioning.  I am confident Nii Amankra will contribute to the acceleration of delivering the most exciting and fruitful customer experiences in Ghana.”

Commenting on his  appointment, Nii Amankrah said, “I am elated and look forward to delivering on the aspiration of a strong , world -class Ghanaian Bank . UMB has impeccable credentials and pedigree as a banking leader. We shall push ahead to lead the way to deliver effective, digital and efficient value to our SME, Corporate and Personal Banking customers, with the aim of helping them be the best they can be.”

Nii Amankra has fulfilled all regulatory reviews and has assumed his role.

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UMB Appoints Nana Kwadwo Dwemoh Benneh as Chief Executive Officer

Accra, February 1, 2021: After five years of dedicated and growth-oriented service to Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), Mr. Benjamin Amenumey has completed his tenure as UMB’s CEO making way for the appointment of Nana Dwemoh Benneh as the bank’s new Chief Executive Officer, following the approval of the Central Bank.

In a statement issued by UMB, Mr. Benjamin Amenumey said “working with a team of dedicated and passionate individuals over the past three years as Chief Operating Officer and then ultimately as the CEO for the past 2 years, has been an absolute honour and pleasure. Together, we have chalked many successes that have propelled our bank into the hallmark of the Ghanaian financial sector, thereby reaffirming our commitment to delivering unrivalled banking excellence to all our wonderful clients through our innovative products and services. For this and the many indelible memories of my time spent with you, I am truly thankful for your unflinching support and I do look forward to celebrating your future wins with you as a family.”

Since joining the bank in 2016, Benjamin Amenumey has initiated and implemented many successful growth strategies with the Bank’s SME banking portfolio and in the Bank’s digital infrastructure including the introduction of its mobile banking application, the UMB SpeedApp.

Under his leadership, the bank attained its ISO 27001 and PCI DSS certifications, a testament to UMB’s continuous commitment to enhancing the experience of the customer with new and efficient banking technologies. He also led the bank in sweeping many coveted industry awards including the GITTA Award as the Best Bank for Cyber Security Risk Management, the Most Improved Bank in Best Use of Technology, and ICT-Driven CEO of the Year Award among others.

In his farewell message to Benjamin Amenumey, Board Chairman of UMB, Mr. Ras Boateng stated, “your ability to lead and boost staff morale to give off their very best as well as the strong legacy you have built over the years will impact positively on our future success as we will continue to execute the laudable initiatives you started. We wish you the very best in your future endeavours.’’

Mr. Boateng further stated, “The choice of Nana Dwemoh Benneh as the next CEO of UMB is a step in the right direction in propelling UMB to the next level of success. Nana Dwemoh throughout his career has demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to excellence and we truly believe that his wealth of experience will serve in the best interest of the bank in achieving its vision as a leader in providing strong financial solutions to its customers.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh in his remarks stated that he was truly honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Board to lead a strong legacy brand like UMB as its next CEO and he will continue to build on the successes of his predecessors to forge a new frontier for posterity.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh joins UMB with considerable local and international expertise in banking spanning over 15 years. Having worked briefly with Merchant Bank Limited after his graduate studies, he joined Barclays Bank on Barclays Plc’s International Business Leadership Program designed to develop Business Leaders with global and significant Pan African experience. Whilst with Barclays he had the opportunity to work in various management roles across several countries in Africa and the UK. Having lead many dynamic teams across as Head of Retail for Barclay Uganda, he moved to Kenya as the East Africa Regional Sales Manager with oversight over Consumer sales machinery in the Banks East African businesses. Subsequently, in 2003, Nana Dwemoh was appointed as Director of the SME Local Business Segment for Barclays Africa based in Johannesburg, South Africa with responsibility for the Banks SME strategy for Africa. In 2005, Nana Dwemoh worked in Corporate Banking in Barclays Plc as Sales Director for International Trade and Cash Solutions Barclays PLC, London. He returned in 2007 to Barclays Bank Ghana as the Consumer Banking Director and is credited with consolidating the gains in the Bank’s consumer banking business post the Bank’s rapid expansion of the franchise that was undertaken between 2006 and 2007.

Nana Dwemoh joined Stanbic Ghana Limited as Executive Director for Personal and Business Banking in October 2013. There he led the team in significantly growing market share and profitability for the Bank’s Personal and Business Banking franchise over the last seven years.

Nana holds an Executive MBA from London Business School and is a member of the International Academy of Retail Banking.

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Farewell Message from Mr. Benjamin Amenumey

Dear Valued Customer,

When I took over the office of UMB CEO, not only did it afford me the honour and pleasure of serving you with the very best of our financial offerings as an indigenous Bank, it also allowed me build on the legacies of my predecessors for the next generation.

Looking back on what we have achieved together as partners since I became UMB CEO, I am delighted on how far we have come in weathering the many storms that came our way and I remain very optimistic that even greater exploits will be achieved in the coming years.

It is in light of this wonderful future ahead that I am happy to pass on the baton of leadership as UMB CEO to another who will carry on the legacy as I humbly bow out effective January 31, 2021.

As bittersweet as this is, I am happy for the many strategies we put in place as a bank in securing your finances and growing your businesses. Together we have rolled our timely products, services, processes and interventions that have seen your businesses and personal finances flourish even in the wake of turbulence such as this pandemic.  Your feedback to us has also allowed us to consistently provide you with tailor made financial solutions that has helped shape our country’s economy positively,  while winning us both many industry and personal accolades.

With this and so many successes chalked, I believe the new leadership of UMB will propel your business and financial future into much greater heights and I humbly ask you to rally your support behind the new CEO as he steers affairs of this great institution.

I want to hereby use this opportunity to personally thank you for your business and support of UMB and my leadership as CEO. Our values as a brand have guided me in leading such a dynamic team of staff into serving and delighting your customer experience with S.P.E.E.D. and I know they will still guide this new leadership to give you the very best of our service in this next phase.

May God bless you and long live UMB!

Sincerely,

Benjamin Amenumey

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Message from the CEO

Dear Business Partner,

We at UMB are excited that November is upon us and we remain positive that we will end this year, 2020 on a great note.

Many exciting things happened over the last month and I crave your indulgence to recap some of the highlights. We joined millions around the world to celebrate the Global Customer Service Week. And on this note, on my own behalf and that of Management and staff of UMB, we want to once again say thank you for your continued support of our business. We promise to grow with you so that together we can build our economy for posterity.

October also marked a significant period in the health calendar of the world as millions, including our staff commemorated Pink October to bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer. Let me use this opportunity to encourage you to get screened regularly and to support this worthy cause even beyond October.

In line with our meticulous approach to deploying capital, controlling operating costs and risks in the business, we recently published our Third Quarter Financials, which saw an earning of GHs22.3million, representing a growth of 156% year-on-year basis. In spite of the global economic challenges, our impressive financial performance is partly attributed to the loyalty and trust that you have reposed in us as your preferred banking partner and for that we say thank you.

As the holiday season fast approaches, UMB understands the financial burden this season may bring. For this reason, we have deployed many financial interventions including the UMB Controller Loan for government workers on the CAGD payroll, to secure up to GHS150,000 within 48 hours at an affordable interest rate to cater for their essential personal needs. Salaried workers can also access up to 50% of their monthly salary in advance to handle life’s little emergencies and then pay back by month-end.

At UMB, we have invested heavily in our digital infrastructure and digital eco-system to safeguard your banking information and transactions and that is why we are PCI DSS and ISO 27001 Certified. While we encourage you to use any of our safe suite of digital banking platforms, kindly ensure to observe safety precautions such as; keeping your password or PIN a secret and ignoring unsolicited calls or messages asking you to perform a task. Please note that UMB is always available to offer any assistance you may need so if you are ever in doubt, kindly contact your Relationship Manager or call our 24-hour UMB Contact Centre on toll free 0800 100 880 or on 0302 633 988 or WhatsApp us on 0266 020 400 for assistance.

On this note I wish you a fruitful month. Please continue to patronise our products and services and share your feedback with us.

 

Sincerely,

UMB

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Message from the CEO

Dear Business Partner,

As we ease into the ‘ember’ months of the year, it is a great time for a fresh start by focusing our energies on improving our productivity to end the third quarter well.

To recap the activities of the past month, I am happy to share that we successfully held our 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM) with our Shareholders, to discuss our performance in the 2019 financial year, realign our business strategies and consolidate our gains by prioritizing your business needs. This way, we can ensure to record an even impressive financial performance than what we recently published for our half year financials.

On that note, I am happy to share with you that UMB obtained the internationally-recognised PCI-DSS Certification in addition to our ISO 27001 Certification. With this certification, we have demonstrated our commitment to the protection of cardholders’ privacy and banking information with every UMB banking transaction. I hereby encourage you to sign up for any of our instant UMB UnionPay and UMB Visa contactless debit cards for fast, secure and convenient access to your money anywhere in the world.

At UMB, we understand the financial burden in these uncertain times and as such we have rolled out financial interventions especially for government and public sector workers with the UMB Controller Loan product. Government workers can now access up to GHS150,000 in less than 48 hours to cater for everyday personal needs at a competitive interest rate and then pay back in 48 months with the UMB Controller Loan. The exciting part of this loan is that, you do not need to be a UMB account holder or require any form of collateral. If you qualify or know anyone who does, kindly visit or let them stopover at the nearest UMB branch to apply now.

Similarly, as part of the several interventions that we continue to offer customers in sustaining their businesses and its steady growth, our SME Banking Department organized the maiden virtual edition of the annual SME Clinic for over two hundred SME customers on the theme, “Running a Successful SME Business in a Disruptive Environment”. Participants were taken through a variety of topics on identifying opportunities and finding the right balance between risk and profit maximization to ensure business continuity and longevity. On this note, if you are an SME owner or hoping to kick-start a business, I welcome you to experience our unique service and product offering for SME’s at any of our three dedicated UMB Centre for Businesses across the country.

While we assure you of the highest safety standards within our branches and office premises, continue to use our safe and secure electronic banking platforms such as the UMB SpeedApp and our Internet Banking portal for your banking transactions whenever, wherever. If you must visit us at any of our thirty-six branches nationwide, kindly ensure to observe all our COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Alternatively, you can share your feedback on our products and services on WhatsApp number 0266020400 or call our 24-hour Contact Centre for support on toll free number 0800100880 or on 0302633988. You can also follow us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube for up-to-date news and events.

I wish you a wonderful and fruitful September. God bless you and our homeland Ghana!

Sincerely,