REUTERS SUMMIT-Atlas Mara says to target Africans ignored by other banks

JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (Reuters) - Atlas Mara, the newest entrant to the African banking market, plans to target low-income earners in additional to the multinational companies and middle-class consumers existing lenders have concentrated on, its chief executive said.

"We want to do things outside the traditional banking model used in Africa. We want to service smaller businesses and the middle class and even further down the economic pyramid than that," John Vitalo told the Reuters Africa Investment Summit.

"You can expect us to be broadly balanced between retail and wholesale banking, although this will be different from country to country," he said.

Both domestic banks and international lenders are jostling for more business in Africa, enticed by maturing democracies, a younger and wealthier population, urbanisation and improving education and infrastructure levels.

Founded in 2013 by Bob Diamond, the former chief executive of Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) and his Dubai-based billionaire business partner Ashish Thakkar, Atlas intends to be a top-five operator in countries where it operates.

So far the company has banking operations in seven countries after acquiring a minority stake in Nigeria's Union Bank, which forms about half of its assets, Botswana-based BancABC and Development Bank of Rwanda.

But Vitalo said there would be more acquisitions in 2015, following the three deals that the company made last year.

Atlas Mara is aiming for a return on equity of between 15 and 20 percent. Africa's biggest lender by assets, Standard Bank , is making an ROE of 21.5 percent from its operations outside South Africa.

After raising $325 million in an initial public offer in 2013, Atlas Mara followed up with a second offer that raised $300 million, three quarters of the amount it had initially sought.

Atlas Mara's stock is down nearly 10 percent in London this year at $7.60 per share. (Reporting by Joe Brock; Writing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura; Editing by Greg Mahlich)