UniBank Ghana Ltd, a small and SMEs-focused bank, is upbeat about becoming a leading bank in the trade finance products and services market of the banking industry. The bank, which was winner in the trade and finance category of the Corporate Initiative’s Ghana Banking Awards in 2005, has been upgrading skills and knowledge of staff, invested in systems and procedures and lending itself to much exposure in order to position it for its ambition. UniBank currently offers all the traditional trade finance products, ranging from open account, pre-payment, establishment of letters of credit as well as documentary collection. In an interview, Mrs. Ophelia Opoku-Ansah, Head of Trade Finance at Unibank, pointed out that their speedy but excellent service to customers, clearly distinguishes them from the rest on the market. “Our customers give us feedback, and we know that it takes the shortest time to establish letters of credit with uniBank trade finance. Our customers do not queue to process transactions; same day transfers, a service quality which has become common with our products, is scarce to find in other parts of the industry,” “This has given meaning to our competitive edge in the market; thanks, however, to our correspondent banks in the US and Europe that have made it possible because of their reliability,” Mrs. Opoku-Ansah stressed that another reason why customers prefer uniBank’s trade finance products and services is because of their reliability, since they have been deliberately developed to function within the confines of the requirement set by the international chamber of commerce rules and regulations. Revenue made by the Bank from its trade finance line of operations increased by 106 percent in 2009 over the previous year. The Bank charges very competitive rates on deals concluded with clients, making sure that it beats the industry, which currently charges between 0.5 % and 1% on any value sealed. Rates are negotiable at uniBank. UniBank presently supports a customer base of about 8,000 exporters and importers. The importers cut across all categories of imports; however a niche is being developed for the export market. Mrs. Opoku-Ansah said at the moment, the Bank’s focus clientele base in the export segment are the shea-nut exporters, scraps, cashew, yam and wood exporters but the Bank is steadily developing a niche for the cashew market. “Since we are concerned about the national economy, the Bank tries as much as possible to ensure that value created from exports balances with what is created from the imports. This also helps the bank to manage foreign exchange requirements in a way that is not adverse on its books,” Mrs. Opoku-Ansah said. She disclosed that the Bank has been taking keen interest in the operations of its customers. Exporters in particular are educated regularly in helping them to lift up the quality of products and aesthetics as they pertain on the international demand market. In the short to medium-term, uniBank targets increased volumes in its trade finance segment of business while eyeing the ultimate winner in the Corporate Initiative’s trade finance award. Source: Business & Financial Times