Ms Nilla Selormey, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), has tasked staff and stakeholders of the bank to strive to provide solution-oriented services to customers.

Ms Selormey, who led the transformation of the brand in 2014 from Merchant Bank Ghana Limited to the present Universal Merchant Bank, made the call in a goodwill message to the bank as they continue to celebrate the Bank’s 50^th anniversary.

“My goodwill message for them is to continue to do things properly, work professionally, be relevant, be solution providers, be value-adding partners so that in the next 50 to come, we will celebrate a 100-year-old institution.

“All stakeholders of the great Bank should work with the knowledge that they are working for an institution they want to see thriving… so that together as Ghanaians we can celebrate a 100-year-old institution.”
Ms Nilla Selormey

Ms Selormey observed that the bank has survived because it has been strategic and a “need-based bank providing services and products that meet a specific need.”

“They are not just out there providing generic services that may not necessarily appeal to everybody. I think it is that ability to be bespoke, to meet specific needs that clients’ need that has guaranteed the banks survival.”
Ms Nilla Selormey

UMB’s Contribution to SMEs and Its Rebranding Process

The former CEO noted that, in addition to the bank’s success, is its contribution to the growth of many Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) which went on to become locally large businesses.

Touching on the Bank’s rebranding process, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Universal Merchant Bank recalled that the move was to transform the bank from being a corporate bank to capture the retail and consumer market that is dominated by the younger generation.

“After a lot of deliberations, questions, research and analysis, a decision was taken that we needed to refresh the brand to resonate with the core growth segments and to differentiate in the market.”
Ms Nilla Selormey

Ms Nilla Selormey explained that all the rebranding activities including retuning, redefining, and bringing the brand into the modern age is, “to make ourselves [UMB] attractive to the new target market that we are looking to attract and retain.”

Ms Selormey, described the transformation of UMB as “hectic, exciting, frenetic,” and said, “but in the end, one was greatly elated by the successes chalked, and the camaraderie of the team one worked with.”

The Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) was established in 1972 as a policy bank; to provide Indigenous merchant banking capacity in Ghana.

The bank has since evolved into a valuable universal banking franchise, focused on becoming a digital-first, and SME-led solution driven by leveraging its immense wholesale banking heritage.

The Bank currently has 35 branches and boasts one of Ghana’s most successful agnostic mobile apps– the UMB SpeedApp.

Meanwhile, the Jubilee celebration is focused on what UMB considers to be its key success variable- ‘Our People: Customers and Clients, Staff, Alumni.’