Union Bank partners GIZ to assist SME development

Friday, 17 May 2013 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Union Bank of Colombo PLC (UBC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (formally known as the GTZ) entered into a partnership to improve access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) customers under GIZ’s SME Development Programme. An agreement between Union Bank and GIZ was signed by Union Bank Director/Chief Executive Officer Anil Amarasuriya and GIZ Colombo Office, Director -Finance and Administration Wolfgang Flache and GIZ Country Office, Colombo Senior Advisor - SME Development, German Mueller.

Amarasuriya stated: “As we work towards our vision of becoming the preferred bank for SMEs in the country, implementing and adopting programmes that complement our SME nexus is our primary focus. This partnership with GIZ to support small and medium businesses will help to further strengthen our position in the SME banking sphere.”

The SME Development programme is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to support their objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. The GIZ-SME Development programme focuses on strengthening Sri Lanka’s growing SME sector through a range of technical assistance activities focusing to improve access to finance for SMEs, develop competitiveness of SMEs through innovation and technology transfer and creating an enabling policy environment.

This GIZ programme will partner Union Bank to assist development SME banking products, procedures, methodologies, setting-up of special SME branches and SME service centres, development and organising of staff training programmes and SME customer training which will enable the bank to sustainably enhance their credit portfolio to its SMEs customers. This programme will help generate employment, impact income, reduce poverty and enhance regional development.

The Union Bank and GIZ partnership will help further strengthen the bank’s focus in the SME sector on delivering enhanced financial solutions to small and medium businesses. The bank continues to aggressively develop a robust structure to absorb new opportunities in the SME sector and become the bank of choice for the SME’s.

This partnership will further enhance the scope of its products and services, improving channel strategy, value added services and superior delivery to enable Union Bank create greater agility in catalyzing growth for SME’s. Union Bank’s 36 branches are focused on addressing the growing needs of customers in the country.