UT Bank secures $55m capital investment
UT Bank closed 2011 without paying dividends to its shareholders but it secured a total of $55.4million from a number of reputable international financiers to position the bank strongly for a better performance.
The bank could not pay dividends because it had to complete the payment of the GH¢60 million minimum capital to the Bank of Ghana as required for every bank operating in Ghana.
UT secured a $15 million loan from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the African Capitalization Fund Limited to finish paying the minimum deposit at the BOG, but it secured more than that amount.
CEO of the Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng reported at this year’s Annual General Meeting that it also secured a $10 million trade credit line, and $5 million senior loan from the IFC to help facilitate UT’s small and medium-scale enterprise (SME) business.
“We have also successfully negotiated a long-term loan of eight million Euros ($10.4 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This will help us fund projects that have a longer maturity period,” he said.
Prince Kofi Amoabeng said UT also planned to conclude negotiations for a further $10 million equity investment from a reputable European organization by the close of this year, 2012.
He said with the support from the IFC, the bank had now exceeded the GH¢60 million minimum capital to GH¢80 million, and was now poised to perform better and pay dividends in 2013.
Meanwhile, the bank posted some GH¢17.3 million profit before tax, and a little over GH¢13 million profit after tax.
The bank finished the year with total assets worth GH¢712.9 million, 26% return on equity, which was higher than the annual treasury-bill rate. It gave out GH¢408 millioin in loans in 2011, which was almost twice what it gave out in 2010.
Mr. Amoabeng however reported that the bank finished the year with a loan portfolio of GH¢499 million, which was 45% higher than that of 2010, adding that SMEs got 57% of the total loans disbursed within the year and the remaining 43% went to the corporate sector.
The bank also undertook a number of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects including financial literacy programmes with GIZ, grooming of up and coming entrepreneurs with Enablis Business Launchpad and the breast cancer awareness campaign and support to acquire a mobile pre-screening unit.
Board Chairman of the bank, Joseph Nsonamoah assured shareholders “the bank is moving up the ladder in terms of market position…and our underlying results show the strength and promise of the bank in achieving its goals.”
By Samuel Dowuona