Union Savings and Loans, (USL), Limited has inaugurated a new branch at Nmai Dzorn near Adjiriganor in Accra with a call on financial institutions to help start-up businesses to grow.

The Executive Chairman of Zoomlion and the Jospong Group, which is the parent company of USL, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong urged banks in the country to help small and medium enterprises to grow rather than concentrating on doing business with established companies.

 He said, “The banks should stop burdening small companies with issues of guarantees and devise innovative ways to make their products and services accessible to all”.

Dr Agyepong declared Union’s preparedness to build a market for the Nmai Dzorn community to boost trading activities, as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility undertakings.

He asked the traditional authorities at Nmai Dzorn to make land available for the construction of the market.

Dr Agyepong noted that markets are very strategic to the operations of banks because the enterprises that operate in and around them generate funds that need to be protected and properly invested.

“Traders in Nmai Dzorn work in markets outside the area and therefore carry money around under unsafe conditions and this is what we want to stop, so I am asking the Nmai Dzorn chiefs to make land available for the construction of a market so that the people can trade here and save their money here,” the Executive Director said.

The Managing Director of USL, Mr Philip Oti-Mensah assured customers and prospective clients of Union’s strict commitment to professionalism.

 “While the competition in the banking sector is healthy and provides an opportunity for customers to get better services and pricing, some financial institutions have recently collapsed and bolted with depositors’ funds, and thus reduced customer confidence severely,” he observed .

Mr Oti-Mensah however urged the people to, “Choose Union based entirely on our ability to deliver on our promises”.

The Board Chairman of USL, Mr Baba Issah stressed that small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) constituted the key engine of growth in developed and developing countries, “However, their biggest challenge is access to funds, and that is what Union Savings and Loans Company seeks to change”.