Union Commercial Bank upgrades its customer service space and adds a luxury penthouse to its Phnom Penh HQ 

Photo supplied

Design concept shows Union Commercial Bank’s plans for improved customer service areas.

UNION Commercial Bank is spending US$400,000 to renovate its retail banking space in response to increasing competition in the Kingdom's commercial banking sector.

Project coordinator Chan Vanna said the retail space in the bank's Phnom Penh headquarters had served the bank well since it opened in 1994 but that it was time for a facelift.

"We wanted to enlarge the space and also change its shape to improve customer service," he said. "We have many competitors, so we wanted to make sure our building was very nice for our customers."

The new retail space will have room for 10 tellers, up from six before. It is due to be completed by the end of November and opened soon after. The bank is using its first floor for retail banking while renovations proceeded.  

Part of a larger refit

Senior operations and marketing manager Chear Ratana said the renovations were part of a much larger refit of the entire seven-storey building on Street 130 in order to cater to a growing customer base.

Renovations of the first, third and fifth floors have already been completed, and renovations of the remaining floors are slated to be concluded before the end of 2009. The top floor will be turned into a penthouse.

Union Bank CEO Yum Sui Sang said innovations like the penthouse suite were the future of banking in the Kingdom.

"The banking industry is very competitive," he said. "I will use the penthouse to entertain our customers in the future."

Chear Ratana did not have total project costs on hand but said the renovation budget for every floor aside from the ground floor was around $180,000.

Chief architect Kong Kannarane of Architect Today said the design was inspired by modern banking facilities in Asia, and particularly in Hong Kong.

Union Bank has branches in Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Battambang. Cambodia as a whole has 22 commercial banks.