Category: CEO Message

Dear Valued Partners,
UMB has had an exciting year since our successful rebranding and we are extremely thankful to you for your support in what we have achieved thus far. As we continue on in our course to build on the great achievements that we have made as a bank, we will welcome Mr. John Awuah as the new Managing Director/CEO.
Mr. Awuah, who will be leading the next phase of our strategy, will be working with our talented team of UMB professionals to ensure UMB’s continued success.
With his impressive wealth of experience in banking and finance, Mr. Awuah will help UMB to be even more effective in serving your needs. Prior to his appointment by the UMB Board of Directors, he was an Executive Director at GCB Bank Limited where he successfully led the financial restructuring of the bank among other notable accomplishments.
We look forward to your continued support and patronage as we enter this new chapter in UMB history.
Sincerely yours,

Your Partners at Universal Merchant Bank

Dear Valued Partners,

As we welcome the month of February, I am excited to share that our Osu and Spintex branches will be opening soon.  Outfitted with our state of the art features including our 24 HR EZones with 24HR ATMs and E-Banking, our Osu and Spintex branches will be ready to provide you with the very best in banking in a few short weeks.

Additionally, we continue to work hard to provide you with partnerships that bring you added convenience and value. For instance, we have recently partnered with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to expand your AMA pay points. You may now pay your AMA building permit and property rate taxes at any of our 28 branches.

Another new service that we have recently launched is our Customer Complaint Hotline. It is important to us that every customer enjoy excellent service each and every time that they visit UMB. If for some reason this does not happen, we have created this hotline, which provides customers with direct access to a member of our executive team to lodge their service complaint.

I am happy to announce that through the New You Promo, we were able to make a meaningful monetary donation to CITI FM Foundation’s Citi Opportunity Project on Education (COPE). COPE is a wonderful organization that provides scholarships to brilliant, yet underprivileged Ghanaians so that they can pursue senior high school and tertiary education. Through our donation, COPE will be able to provide promising students with the opportunity of a quality education.

Also, please join me in congratulating our New You Promo grand prize winner, Joseph Boateng and our second prize winner, Charity Enyonam Attifu. Joseph is the lucky recipient of the grand prize of GHC100,000 and Charity won the lovely Hyundai ix35. Thank you to everyone who participated and thank you to all of our customers for your continued loyalty, support and patronage.

UMB …you first!

Until next month,

Dear Valued Partners,

Happy New Year! I hope that 2015 has started off wonderfully well for all of you. I read an amusing cartoon where one character asked “What will the new year bring us?” and the other character responded “365 opportunities”.

At UMB, that is how we are approaching 2015 as 365 opportunities to provide you with innovative products and services, exceptional customer service and a true partner in achieving your financial needs. We understand your need for convenience and ease of access to our branches, so we are very excited to begin 2015 with a great expansion to our branch network. Our branches at both the Junction Mall in Nungua and on the Lagos Avenue in East Legon are now open. We will be opening our Spintex and Osu branches in a few weeks. As the year progresses, we will continue to open new branches so that you can access our services in as many new places as possible.

To complement our branch expansion, we will continue to add new ATMs to our network. This month, we will be adding two new ATMs in Kumasi, one at the Modex Filing Station in Tafo and another at the Goil Filling Station near the Suame Junction.

Our New You Promo officially ended on December 31 and we will be holding the Grand Draw for the first prize of GHC100,000, second prize a Hyundai ix35 and consolation prizes of Samsung Galaxy Tabs on January 9^th with the presentation ceremony to the lucky winners on January 16^th. I wish all participants the best of luck and we are delighted and very thankful that so many of you partook in the New You promotion. At the presentation ceremony, we will also announce the name of the education-focused charity that will receive a monetary donation in connection with the New You promotion.

As always, there are many exciting developments at UMB. Expect new products and programs very soon and I look forward to sharing the details with you.

UMB …you first!

Until next month,

Dear Valued Partners,

December marks the last month of a very exciting 2014 for UMB. I speak for everyone at UMB when I say that we are extremely thankful for your support and patronage. We began the year amidst a lot of challenge and change, but as we look towards 2015, UMB is a bank revived, reinvigorated and poised for continued success. None of what we have accomplished thus far would be possible without the support of our customers, partners, friends and family. As we enter the holiday season, I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to each and every one of you for helping us grow to better serve you.

As with every month this year, I am happy to share with you the new developments that my team and I have been diligently working on.  Our new head office in the SSNIT Emporium Building in Airport City is officially open for business.

Our new head office is truly a marvel in design and banking services. Occupying 11 floors, our new location houses our executive management offices, Private Banking department on the 11th and 10th floors, Corporate Banking department on the 2nd floor, Retail Banking department on the 3rd floor, various support functions and our recently opened Airport City Branch.

Our modern Airport City Branch banking hall and 24 Hour E-Zone is located on the first floor.  The banking hall is outfitted with a dedicated Internet Banking facility as well as meeting areas equipped with interactive touch screens. The 24 Hour E-Zone includes our tablet-enabled E-Banking services and ATMs. Before the close of the year, we will be adding several new branches in key locations across Accra, including The Junction Mall in Nungua. We will also continue our ATM network expansion with new ATMs in the Ashanti region.

We are also the official Banking sponsor of The Challenge Season 6 and we have devised a fun and engaging task for this season’s contestants. We hope that you tune in to this great show that celebrates some of the best and brightest young minds in Ghana.

Lastly, I trust that you are actively participating in our New You Promo as we have one more month to go before we award the grand prize of GHC100,000!  I wish you and your family all the best for the coming holiday season and we look forward to receiving you in our banking halls.

UMB …you first!

Until next year,

Dear Valued Partners,

I am excited to share with you that this month, we launched four new and innovative savings products targeted for your children at key stages in their development.  Called the Future Generation Accounts, the four products include the ABC Account, Piggy Bank Account, Smart Teen Account and Young Adult Account.

The ABC Account is designed for children from birth up to the age of five. Whether you are saving for school fees or simply wish to teach your child the ABC’s of saving, UMB has created this product to help parents start early with their financial preparations for their children.

The Piggy Bank Account is for children aged 6 to 12 years old. It allows the beneficiary children to enjoy the benefits of long-term savings first-hand while also serving as an excellent tool to teach children the basics of financial literacy.

The Smart Teen Account is for children aged 13 to 16 years old.  It enables parents to financially prepare for the fast approaching tertiary education fees of their children while at the same time allowing the teenagers themselves to learn sound financial habits.

Designed for young people aged 17 to 19 years, the Young Adult Account allows parents and their young adults to address the growing financial concerns and needs that arise as young adults transition into adulthood. All Future Generation Accounts include branded gifts when you open an account and other fantastic benefits.

In addition, to the Future Generation Accounts, we are pleased to announce that the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has selected UMB as an official collection bank for the Tourism Development Fund.  Tourism Enterprises may now use any of our 23 branches to make their payments to the GTA.

As we approach the end of 2014, UMB has many more exciting new projects in development, including new branches and additional ATMs. Indeed, we recently added three new ATMs to our network, one at Trade Fair, the second at Dansoman Asoredanho Shell Filling Station and the third in West Hills Mall.

Lastly, I trust that you are actively participating in our New You Promo as we will be having our first monthly draw for 10 Samsung Galaxy tabs very soon!  I wish you all the best for a wonderful month and we look forward to receiving you in our banking halls.

UMB …you first!

Until next month,