uniBank Ghana: A Bank for the 21st Century Customer

Banking in Ghana is not an easy task and none of the 27 registered commercial banks in the country is having an easy day as the industry itself is. In Ghana’s banking sector, competition is neck-deep and the jostle for customers in an environment where a little over four million people have bank accounts continues unabated. But that is not news anymore. Because, as the dozens of traditional micro finance institution (MFIs) migrate to do full commercial banking, another dozen of them pop up to replace the graduating ones and further add-on to those already in existence. That, indeed tightens the competition for players in the industry. But in the midst of that come exceptional banks; the ones that leverage on technology, modern ways of doing business and revised and different attitudes to customer services to make a mark and excel in the individual endeavors.

One such bank is the uniBank Ghana Limited (UBG). The bank, which is affectionately called uniBank in the country, is one of the few locally-owned banks excelling in a sector traditionally dominated by foreign players. Although it was incorporated as a private company in December 1997 to operate as a bank, it opened its door to customers in January 2001, then adding onto a host of other banks, micro finance institutions and traditional finance houses and companies to provide financial services to the Ghanaian public. Surviving in the environment and doing business to the satisfaction of shareholders then was not easy as fierce competition at the time and now has edged many of its counterparts out of business. But there was a way out.

Realizing how tight the banking environment was and the need for tailored and exceptional services from banks from the onset of its start of operations, uniBank’s founders and pioneer managers quickly carved a niche for the bank as one that cares for its customers. It took the tag line ‘Caring for You‘ and zoomed straight into operations with a pledge to meet and exceed customer expectations, delight them with enhanced and assorted services and in the process motivate them to lure their friends, family and relatives to bank with uniBank.

In Ghana, word of mouth, like the Bible says, spreads like fire and any good fortune experienced by one is worth sharing with a friend or closer relative. As a result, uniBank’s strategy of delighting customers to help spread its commitment of offering exceptional services worked. Sooner than later, those efforts were bearing fruits and translating into awards, recognitions and dozens of commendations from well-meaning institutions and individuals in and outside the local banking industry.

uniBank’s Tones of Awards and Customers in a Decade

If uniBank was a human being, the bank would have still been in its early days of existence and wining awards would have been less expected of it. But that is not the case. The bank has since its establishment in 2001 won a total of about 35 awards from the prestigious Ghana Banking Awards (GBA), an annual awards ceremony organised by a local institution, Corporate Initiative Ghana (CIG), to reward innovation and excellence in the banking sector.

The bank has also been adjudged the ‘Best Bank, Customer Care’ four times and runner up in the same category three consecutive times since 2002. That goes hand in hand with uniBank’s ambition to delight the customer with exceptional services and in particular, it’s tagging of ‘Caring for You’. It has also emerged winner as well as runner up in other categories such as ‘Advisory Services’, ‘Best Corporate Banking’, ‘Consumer Lending’, ‘Best Pricing’, ‘IT/Electronics Banking’, ‘Short and Long-Term Loan Financing’, ‘Best Growing Bank’, ‘Best Bank, Retail Banking’ as well as ‘Best Bank, Trade Bank’. All thee laurels have been chalked in twelve years, something uniBank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Felix Nyarko-Pong, attributed to highly skilled expertise of the bank’s staff and management. “uniBank is a local bank with first-class expertise and first-class local knowledge. This first-class expertise is in terms of management and caliber of business,” he told Marcopolis in an interview.

As the quality of the bank’s services improved year-on-year, leading to the conferment of series of awards on it, its customer base also rose accordingly and widened from individuals into businesses, multinationals and now foreign base institutions.

The same applied to branches and networks. Although it started with just one branch, it currently has about 20 branches and networks spread across the length and breadth of the country with plans to open five more branches by the end of the year. “We are aiming to have 25 branches by the end of this year and I can foresee us opening more as we try to reach beyond banks and deepen our retail presence,” the CEO disclosed in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. “We also intend to follow the footprints of our key customers,” he said, adding that “It shouldn’t be surprising to see us opening in one, two or three international markets that we have targeted. That will be very soon,” he emphasized.

Unibank’s Passion for SMEs

Ghana’s economy is dominated by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) whose desire for funds is as frequent as young plants would demand water to survive. Although data on economic activities on is readily unavailable, estimates put it that about 90 per cent of economic businesses in Ghana are within this lower bracket. That speaks volumes, especially given the enormous potential that these entities hold to the economic progress of the country as a whole. As a result, their ability to access sufficient but stable funds to grow in the process and contribute meaningfully to the development of the local economy is key.

But that is not easy, especially in Ghana where regulatory and government institutions admit the bubble in the financial sector is yet to positively impact on the business community. There, interest rates on loans and overdrafts are high, access to and cost of credit is a challenge and requesting for funds can be as tedious and time consuming as a journey to space. Collateral – using properties as security for loans – is the order of the day and those who cannot provide it would have to go and come later.

That challenge even becomes worst with regards to the MSME community. Due to their young nature, most of them are unable to accumulate assets which can be used as collateral for loans from financial institutions. Added to that is their informal way of doing business. Because the majority of them is often ran by people with less expertise in business transactions, book keeping is barely done and records on their operations and financial capacity is difficult to come by. That scares most financial institutions, especially the commercial banks, from dealing with them. But where many have shied from, uniBank had ventured and succeeded with ease.

The bank, since its inception, aligned itself to the MSME segment of the economy, specialising in financing to businesses in that area and leaving enviable footprints that are now being traced by its competitors. “We are a fully indigenous company and we truly believe in that SME customer and want to walk the journey with them. We are not here to run away to another market because we think it’s going to create the best value. We are here to stay,” the bank’s CEO said. “We hold their (MSME) hands and run with them,” Mr Nyarko-Pong said, adding that uniBank had realised that “if we are able to nurture these businesses, they do not leave us mid-stream.”

This commitment to the MSME sector reflects in the number of awards the bank has won over the years. “In terms of customer service, last year (2012), we won and this year we were runner-up for reputable banking in terms of advisory services. These things are important to the SME customer and the understanding of these things is what puts us ahead,” he added.

uniBank to go Global, Welcomes Partnerships

Having helped raised one-man ventures to African champions, uniBank is confident the time is due to trace the operations of these entities outside the shores of Ghana. The bank’s CEO said it was currently looking at setting its footprints in the international scene in an attempt to trace the steps of its thousands of customers. “We intend to follow the footprints of our key customers. Many of the key customers within the SME sector are also involved in international trade; in the import and export sectors. It shouldn’t be surprising to see us opening very soon in one, two or three international markets that we have targeted. That wouldn’t be so much to go there to compete as means following the natural footprint of our key customers to offer them the services that they require,” he said.

On the specific markets that the bank was looking at, the CEO said “Naturally, when we look at the flow, it will first be to Asia. The natural markets of Ghana are also in Europe and London and the Asian stopovers such as Dubai. It’s not difficult to look at that in terms of following the footsteps. We would be going there primarily to offer add-on services to our existing clients. Starting up wouldn’t be difficult because we would be starting with what we know. It is not to say that we want to go into those markets to establish retail outfits,” he added. But in all these, the CEO said the bank was opened to synergies, especially the type that can redouble the bank’s efforts at serving customers and improving upon its fortunes. “If one plus one is going to give us four, then why not merge,” he said, signaling the bank’s readiness to partner with established financial institutions that will help it expand its reach.

But whatever the case, uniBank has succeeded in carving an enviable niche for itself in a country where banking activities are clouded in similarities. That niche has earned it more businesses, consistently improved its bottom line and in the process won it several awards. Keeping to that tradition and improving upon it would, therefore, be key. But if the aural of confidence and commitment to excellent customer services as displayed at the bank’s headquarters in Accra was anything to go by, then uniBank is the bank for the 21st Century customer; the one whose banking needs and expectations are forever evolving.