UT Bank and Amethis Finance, a Paris based Equity firm on Thursday signed a US10 million loan agreement to support UT Bank’s capital base to help it boost its lending to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector.

Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng, Chief Executive Officer of UT Bank signed for the Bank while Mr Laurent Demey, Managing Partner of Amethis Finance initialed on behalf of the company.

The agreement is, however, subject to the approval of the Bank of Ghana.

Commenting on the deal, Mr Amoabeng said the fund would go a long way to strengthen the bank’s capital base, allowing it to efficiently grow its lending to the SME sector.

He said the loan, a longer tem fund of seven years, would help UT reduce the cost of funds to be able to support the SMEs into the medium term.

“The capital injection is timely and will enable the bank to reach out to more SME customers and extend the tenure of their loans,”he said.

Mr Amoabeng said the policy of UT Bank is to strengthen its position in the SME market in Ghana and develop its retail footprint with branch expansion and the use of technology to attract cheap deposit.

Mr Demey said the transaction fitted into the strategy of Amethis Finance to support mid-size African financial institutions with focus on market expansion and strong footprint in the SME sector.

UT Bank is one of the fastest growing indigenous banks in Ghana with a strong SME positioning. It is listed and owned by local institutions and individuals, together with leading Development Finance Institutions, International Finance Corporation and the German DEG having become shareholders in 2012.

Amethis Finance is an investment company dedicated to Africa with a total investment capacity of 300 million dollars.