Innovation, resilience sustained UBA’s 75yrs of banking growth, says Shettima

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has attributed the 75-year banking growth of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to innovation and resilience despite economic challenges.

He made the assertion over the weekend at a dinner to celebrate the bank’s 75 years anniversary in Abuja.

“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, resilience and courage of those who believe in its promise of a new world. That is what leadership means,” he said.

He added, “The United Bank for Africa, or simply 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 because it is led by people who do not just manage capital, but manage curiosity.”

In his welcome address, UBA’s Group Managing Director, Dr Oliver Alawuba, recalled that “75 years ago, UBA commenced operations at Kakawa Street in Lagos as British & French Bank (BFB).

The GMD emphasised UBA’s impressive expansion over the decades, noting that it now operates in 24 countries with 1,000 business offices, over 25,000 staff members, and a customer base exceeding 45 million people.

Dr Alawuba shared financial metrics demonstrating the bank’s robust performance, including a profit after tax of N766.6 billion and total assets reaching N30.4 trillion, adding that shareholders have been rewarded with a dividend of ₦5 per share, representing a dividend yield of 14.5% – the highest among industry peers.

He also pointed out that the group’s shareholders’ funds rose significantly to N3.419 trillion in 2024 from N2.030 trillion in December 2023.

“The 2024 financial performance demonstrated the bank’s continued focus on driving earnings growth, preserving asset quality, expanding business operations and deepening market share,” Alawuba said.

Looking to the future, the GMD outlined an ambitious vision for UBA to establish a presence in every African country and expand to over 100 countries worldwide within the next 75 years.

Earlier, during the Annual General Meeting, Tony Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, said the bank will raise N144.8 billion in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 to add to its current capital base of N355.2 billion.

Elumelu said the move is to meet the N500 billion capital base threshold set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In March 2024, the CBN raised the capital requirement for merchant, non-interest banks, and commercial banks. Adding that banks have until March 2026 to meet the new requirement, and they can raise more capital, merge with others, or downgrade their licences to fit their capital level.

Elumelu said, in line with the CBN’s directive, UBA commenced its capital raise with a rights issue in November 2024.

He said that in line with the CBN’s directive, UBA commenced its capital raise with a rights issue in November 2024.

“The rights issue closed in December 2024 with 6.84 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each offered to existing shareholders at N35 per share,” he explained.

This was oversubscribed by N11.6 billion (4.8 per cent), and the entire amount of N251.0 billion has been verified and approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).