After 75 years, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) is charting a new course in its expansion as Africa’s global, its Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, has said.
Speaking at the bank’s 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja on Friday, Elumelu said at the end of the 2024 financial year, the bank group generated gross revenue of about N3.2 trillion, and profit after tax of N767billion.
Also, he said the bank’s total deposits grew by 42 percent to N24.6 trillion, up from N17.4 trillion in 2023, while its loan book expanded by 35 percent to N7.5 trillion, up from N5.5 trillion, in line with its commitment to fund growth and contribute to Nigeria and Africa’s economic transformation.
Besides, he said the group maintained a well-structured and diversified balance sheet, with total assets and shareholders’ funds at N30.3 trillion or $3.2 billion, and N3.4 trillion respectively.
The shareholders approved a final dividend payout of N3 per share, in addition to an interim dividend of N2 per share already paid during the year.
With presence and network across four continents, in 24 countries, and with a global corporate client base, Elumelu said UBA was proud to support businesses, government, and consumers across Africa and globally.
On efforts to comply with the Central Bank directive to raise the minimum capital requirement for international commercial banks to N500 billion, Elumelu said with the bank’s current capital at N116 billion, its rights issue unveiled in November 2024 was oversubscribed by N11.6billion, with over N251 billion verified and approved by the apex bank.
The Chairman gave the bank’s new capital as N355.2 billion, with about N144.8 billion required to meet the regulatory threshold expected to be raised later this year in another rights issue, to be invested in additional technologies and Business Growth in Nigeria, across Africa and the globe.
Reviewing the bank’s achievements in its engagements as an active corporate citizen in its operational areas, Elumelu said its recognition as the Best Regional Bank West Africa at the African Bankers Award reaffirmed its commitment to innovation, financial inclusion, and driving economic growth in Africa.
Giving further details of the bank’s performance for the financial year, its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, said although 2024 was a challenging year, with Nigeria’s inflation reaching a 30-year high of 34.8 percent in December, net interest income increased by 116.4 percent to N1.53 trillion.
The growth in earnings, he said, was fuelled by a significant increase in net both net interest and commission as well as fees as a result of a combination of a strong expansion in bank’s loan portfolio and higher net interest margins.
He said the bank sustained its policy of cost discipline, with cost to income at 49.6 percent, despite the impact of an adverse macroeconomic conditions, with non-performing loan ratio at 5.58 percent.
“These results highlight our ability to sustain growth, manage risks effectively and create value for shareholders, despite a challenging operating environment,” Alawuba said.
He thanked shareholders for their support, saying the bank was committed to continue to make them happy, as the bank has moved from the era of ‘Kobo Kobo’ dividend payment.
“I think we have moved far from those difficult times, and we continue to advance beyond that point to do well.
He identified the customer as the primary focus of UBA, as it was committed to improving their banking experience through digital banking.
“We’re investing heavily in digital banking to improve your experience when you interact digitally or even physically with UBA. This is very important,” he said.
On what the capital raising would be used for, Alawuba said the bank intends to invest in digital platforms and improve the customer’s digital experience in the world of artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, during the 75th Anniversary Dinner at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Friday, Vice President, Kashim Shettima, extolled the bank’s dedication to innovation and emerging markets, saying it has reshaped the narrative of what African institutions can become.
“Seventy-five years is not something you pick up at a supermarket. It is earned. It’s through risks and calculations, through storms and sunshine, through mergers and acquisitions, and through the brainpower and courage of those who believe in its promise of a new world. That is what leadership means,” the VP said.
“UBA is not what it is, because of the age of its ideas. It is what it is, because of the attention it pays—attention to innovation, attention to emerging markets, attention to shifting dreams, and attention to the changing contours of generational ambition.
“UBA has remained a pacesetter, because it is led by people who do not just manage capital, but manage curiosity”, he said.
VP Shettima attributed UBA’s staying power to its passion for relevance, describing it as a quintessential specimen of what an African institution could become by institutionalizing excellence.
The Vice President described the bank’s Chairman, Tony Elumelu, as one of Africa’s finest sons, saying he has “become a bridge between the old and the new, between the outdated and the emerging generations. ”
