UBA: Constantly charting bold path for Africa’s financial future

Owing to its unique and dynamic nature, navigating Africa’s volatile business landscape requires resilience, vision, and strategy built on long-term commitment.

In a continent where business mortality rates are usually among the highest globally, only a few institutions have demonstrated the staying power and adaptability needed to not just survive but thrive.

United Bank for Africa (UBA), which prides itself as Africa’s Global Bank, stands as a remarkable example of an organisation with such resilience.

From its origin in 1949 as the French and British Bank of West Africa to its transformation through a strategic merger with Standard Trust Bank in 2005, UBA has truly evolved into a Pan-African and global financial powerhouse in its over seven decades of operation. With presence in 24 African countries and active operations in major financial capitals of Europe, America, and Asia, UBA continues to retain its position as Africa’s brand with global influence.

Last Lear, the bank commenced a year-long series of activities to mark its 75th anniversary, and one of the events to close the year-long commemoration was the Group Chairman’s Forum, which was held between 22nd and 23rd April, at the iconic Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.

Conceived by UBA’s Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, CFR, the forum has become a strategic platform for charting the bank’s future. This year’s edition convened over 120 senior stakeholders ranging from chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers of UBA’s 24 subsidiaries to top executives and board members, focused on reviewing performance, aligning priorities, and reinforcing the bank’s customer-first philosophy.

Addressing participants at the opening of the two-day session, Mr Elumelu said, “This gathering is for knowledge sharing, group integration and re-strategising mechanisms with the overall aim of putting UBA Group on firm standing to actualise its goals and targets for the financial year and the foreseeable future.”

Continuing, he said, “Throughout our over seven decades, our group has demonstrated capacity to adapt, to transform and to disrupt, establish, further and uphold fundamental responsibility to our customers and stakeholders.”

The forum afforded participants the opportunity to critically review the bank’s performance, discuss strategic initiatives and chart the course for the future. Discussions were built on interactive panel sessions moderated by the Group Chairman and key issues around UBA’s International and African reach, brand building, projection and reputation management, customer experience, and governance and risk were thoroughly discussed and interrogated

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Day 1 kicked off with a comprehensive review of the bank’s financial performance in 2024, followed by an engaging panel session with key stakeholders in Risk and Corporate Governance. The first day wrapped up with another powerful panel featuring leaders from UBA Africa, highlighting regional perspectives and strategic direction.

Day 2 was more interesting as top players discussed international footprint and the power of brand building and reputation management.

The forum came on the heels of a very successful 2024 financial year, where the bank not only recorded excellent performances across key indicators with its ex-Nigerian operations contributing seventy per cent of the profit.

Participants were unanimous in their decision to do all in their power to accentuate the bank’s position as the leading pan-African bank across all key indices, including brand equity, human capital, customer service and profitability, whilst also inculcating a culture of responsiveness, with zero tolerance for any regulatory infraction across all its subsidiaries.

Constant in Mr Elumelu’s intervention at the discussions was positioning UBA for leadership in the banking space in Africa and the global space, within the short and medium term. “Banking is a marathon and not a sprint. We are building to last, and our drive is for long term, bringing rewards to our shareholders,” Mr Elumelu constantly retorted while urging participants to continue to live up to the expectations.

Mr Elumelu proffered that the bank’s success would be driven by adherence to strong corporate governance, execution of established rules, principles and procedures, improving speed of execution, operational efficiency and fraud mitigation and most importantly, making the customer the centerpiece of what UBA does.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who spoke at the dinner organised to celebrate the bank’s 75th Anniversary, attributed the 75-year banking growth of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to innovation and resilience despite economic challenges.

“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.”

A cursory glance at the full year results revealed that it was a very strong and rewarding 2024 for the bank, as it generated a gross revenue of N3.2 trillion and a profit after tax of N767 billion. It successfully sustained its deposit mobilisation efforts, growing total deposits by 42 per cent to N24.6 trillion. UBA’s loan book expanded by 35 per cent to N7.5 trillion, demonstrating its commitment to fund growth, thus, contributing to Nigeria and Africa’s economic transformation.

UBA Group maintained a well structures and diversified balance sheet with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N30.3 trillion and N3.4 trillion respectively.

UBA, with a global staff of over 25,000, is proud supporter of businesses, governments, and consumers across Africa and globally, serving over 45 million people in 24 countries across Africa, Europe, America and Asia.

Nasir Ramon Olanrewaju is the Group Head, Media and External Relations of the United Bank for Africa (UBA).