UT Bank (UTB), formally known as UT Bank Ghana Limited, was a
commercial bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit.
It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...
in
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
until 2017 when its license was revoked by the
Bank of Ghana due to severe impairment of their capital and was taken over by
GCB Bank.
, the bank was one of the commercial banks licensed by
Bank of Ghana, the national banking regulator. UTB was a medium-sized financial services provider headquartered in Ghana with subsidiaries in
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
and
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
.
On August 14, 2017, the bank of Ghana announced it had revoked its license, together with Capital Bank. The bank was subsequently taken over by GCB Bank.
History
In 1997, Joseph Nsonamoa and
Prince Kofi Amoabeng co-founded Financial Services and then renamed it Unique Trust Financial Services. UT Financial Services was a non-bank financial services provider (NBFI) in
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
, which was incorporated in 1997. Over time, the NBFI acquired subsidiaries and was listed on the
Ghana Stock Exchange, under its
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
, UT Holdings Limited.
In 2008, UT (Unique Trust) Holdings Limited acquired majority shareholding in a Ghanaian commercial bank called BPI Bank. The bank was re-branded as
UT Bank Ghana Limited and opened for business in May 2009.
In June 2010, UT Bank and UT Financial Services merged into one company called UT Bank Ghana Limited. Through a reverse listing on the
Ghana Stock Exchange, the new bank's shares became listed and those of UT Holdings were de-listed. Its shares traded under the symbol UTB.
The bank's total assets in December 2011 were valued at approximately US$378.4 million (GHS:712.9 million), with shareholders' equity of approximately US$32.5 million (GHS:61.23 million).
On August 14, 2017, the Central Bank of Ghana issued a statement to the press indicating that the license of UT Bank had been revoked, along with that of another Ghanaian owned bank (Capital Bank). In the statement, the Central Bank also approved the take-over of UT Bank and Capital Bank by GCB Bank Limited. The first paragraph of the statement read, "The Bank of Ghana has approved a Purchase and Assumption transaction with GCB Bank Ltd that transfers all deposits and selected assets of UT Bank Ltd and Capital Bank Ltd to GCB Bank Ltd. The Bank of Ghana has revoked the Licences of UT Bank Ltd and Capital Bank Ltd. This action has become necessary due to severe impairment of their capital. The remaining assets and liabilities will be realised and settled respectively through a receivership process to be undertaken by Messers Vish Ashiagbor and Eric Nana Nipah of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)".
On the same day, the Ghana Stock Exchange announced that it had suspended the listing of UT Bank indefinitely.
Affiliate companies
The bank was a subsidiary of UT Holdings, which owns the following subsidiaries:
Subsidiaries of UT Holdings
/ref>
* UT Logistics - headquartered in Tema
Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most p ...
, Ghana
* UT Properties - real estate development and management
* UT Collections - debt recovery
* UT Private Security - armed and unarmed private security service
* UT Financial Services Nigeria - loans and lease financing solutions
* UT Financial Services South Africa - headquartered in Johannesburg
* UT Life Insurance - life insurance
See also
* Economy of Ghana
* List of banks in Ghana
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:UT Bank
Banks of Ghana
Companies based in Accra
Banks established in 2009
Ghanaian companies established in 2009
Companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange
Companies in the GSE Composite Index