IFC Acquires 22% Stake In UT Bank

The International Financial Corporation (IFC) now controls 22 percent shares in UT Bank following a $15 million investment into the bank last week. The investment catapulted UT Bank to meet Bank of Ghana�s 60 million cedi recapitalisation requirement. The IFC on Tuesday, made an additional capital injection of $15 million bringing its total investment in UT Bank to $30 million. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr. Prince Kofi Amoabeng, IFC�s 22 percent stake in UT Bank is a positive development. �This is good for us because IFC has got worldwide expertise and we need a member on board to share that expertise with us. And other bit is the technical advice that they can offer UT,� Mr. Amoabeng said. �The additional $15 million investment will among other things help increase access to medium term capital for Small to Medium Enterprises and also provide the bank access to a global network of banks that will help UT Bank finance cross-border trade transactions of local companies.� IFC�s Vice President in charge of Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe, Therry Tanoh said his outfit is committed to partnering UT Bank for the long haul. �Ultimately, we want institutions like UT to grow so that at some point, they can do without institutions like IFC in accessing long term resources,� he said. He was speaking to journalists when the two parties signed documents covering the additional $15 million investment. The additional capital includes US$5 million Senior Loan while US$10 million is a Trade Finance Guarantee Facility to UT Bank, Ghana�s leading SME bank. The Senior Loan and Trade Finance Facility are in addition to an IFC Advisory Services Program and a combined US$15 million equity investment in UT Bank agreed to by IFC and the Africa Capitalization Fund Ltd (AFC), which is managed by the IFC Asset Management Company.