UMB Ghana

Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) is a Ghanaian bank that has operated since 1972, when it was established as Merchant Bank Ghana, the country's first merchant bank. It converted to a universal banking license in 2005 and now serves personal, business, corporate, and wealth banking customers nationwide.

Key capabilities include:

• Personal and retail banking: savings and current accounts, personal loans, and mobile and internet banking
• Business and SME banking: overdrafts, trade finance (letters of credit, bills of collection), and equipment leasing, supported through three dedicated UMB Centres for Businesses in Accra, Kumasi, and Kasoa
• Corporate and treasury banking: lending, advisory, and treasury services for larger corporate clients
• Digital banking through internet banking, online account opening, and the UMB SpeedApp mobile app

Available on Web and Android (also on iOS via the App Store), with a network of 35+ branches across Ghana.

Notable context: UMB was recapitalized in 2019 under the government-backed Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) program set up after Ghana's banking-sector clean-up, alongside its majority private shareholder, Fortiz Private Equity Fund; other shareholders reportedly include SSNIT and SIC Life. UMB also has a history of pioneering hire-purchase and leasing in Ghana and advising on transactions such as the Ashanti Goldfields-AngloGold merger before the Ghana Stock Exchange existed.