Umuchinemere Procredit
Microfinance Bank Nigeria Limited

Driven by its streak of successes and its set goal for further growth to meet the daily economic needs of the active poor in the society, especially in the rural areas, the Umuchinemere Procredit Micro Finance Bank, (UPMFB) Enugu, Nigeria has with the approval of the country's banking regulatory body, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), upgraded three of its rural outlets from Meeting Points to Branches.

The new branches situate at 9^th Mile Corner; Abakpa Nike Market; and Agbani town in the Udi, Enugu East and Nkanu West local government areas of Enugu state respectively.

Chairman of the bank, the Rev. Prof. Obiora Ike, disclosed this development at a Board/Management meeting of the bank, held at Ofu Obi African Centre, Independence Layout, Enugu.

Prof. Ike, a Roman Catholic prelate (Monsignori), explained that the new branches were established to meet the rising daily needs of the banks teeming active poor and even middle income earning customers scattered all over the state.

The Umuchinemere Procredit Micro Finance Bank chairman said that after its inspection of the three outlets of the bank, the CBN was satisfied that they met the requisite status to become branches and therefore gave its approval for them to be made branches.

The Umuchinemere Procredit Micro Finance Bank was established by the Roman Catholic diocese of Enugu under the leadership of late Bishop Michael Ugwuja Eneja on July 22, 1995, first as a Community Bank and was later transformed in 2007 as a microfinance bank, when microfinance banking policy was introduced by the federal government of Nigeria to take care of the economic empowerment needs of the unbanked active poor people in the country.

Ike reiterated his earlier position to ensure UPMFB remains "a credible vehicle for economic evangelization which corresponds to the Social Doctrine of the Church to make faith real through good works that serve the principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, human dignity and the common good, as well as retains its high profile as a leading microfinance bank in Nigeria, fulfilling regulatory guidelines, and stakeholder's expectations both in its transparent financial records and in its ethical standards which offers our people the desired financial services that makes money a good servant not master, that guarantees access of financial services to the poor and unbanked in rural areas, thus improving and increasing our network and branch expansion within Enugu Diocese and the entire Enugu state".