United Bank for Africa (UBA) on Friday, 25 April, held its 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Gatekeepers News that UBA celebrated a landmark 75 years of operations while outlining major achievements and future growth strategies.
In his address, Group Chairman Tony Elumelu reflected on the bank’s journey, celebrating its 75th anniversary of resilience, innovation, and commitment to service.
He acknowledged the vision of the bank’s founders and emphasized the group’s ability to adapt, transform, and maintain a consistent purpose over the decades.
Elumelu highlighted UBA’s impressive financial performance in 2024, with a gross revenue of ₦3.2 trillion and a profit after tax of ₦767 billion.
He noted strong growth in deposits, which rose by 42% to ₦24.6 trillion, and an expansion of the loan book by 35% to ₦7.5 trillion. The bank’s total assets stood at ₦30.3 trillion, with shareholders’ funds at ₦3.4 trillion (approximately $3.2 billion), demonstrating a solid and diversified balance sheet.
On regulatory compliance, Elumelu detailed UBA’s efforts to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new minimum capital requirement of ₦500 billion for international commercial banks. Following a successful, oversubscribed rights issue, UBA’s capital increased to ₦355.2 billion, with plans to raise the remaining ₦144.8 billion later in the year.
Beyond financial achievements, Elumelu emphasized UBA’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. He cited initiatives such as planting 4,550 tree seedlings to offset carbon emissions and distributing over 13,000 books through the Read Africa Initiative. He also announced UBA’s recognition as Bank of the Year in five African countries and the Best Regional Bank in West Africa.
Elumelu concluded by appreciating the bank’s founders, management, staff, customers, shareholders, and regulators for their contributions and continued support, reaffirming UBA’s mission as Africa’s global bank poised for even greater achievements.
In his remarks, UBA’s Group Managing Director and CEO, Oliver Alawuba, expressed appreciation to shareholders for their trust and support, noting that the bank had successfully moved beyond periods of low dividend payouts. He emphasized that the bank’s primary focus is on improving customer experience, particularly through heavy investments in digital banking infrastructure, which is crucial for efficiently serving UBA’s 45 million customers globally.
Alawuba encouraged all shareholders to own UBA cards, explaining that part of the recently raised capital would be used to enhance digital platforms and embrace artificial intelligence technologies, ultimately improving service delivery. He also announced that UBA would soon expand operations to France and Saudi Arabia, stressing that digital advancements were essential to support the bank’s growing international presence.
On customer service, Alawuba highlighted that UBA now treats complaints as valuable feedback and has set up a Customer Fulfillment Center to promptly address all issues. He assured shareholders that investments were also being made to strengthen account security and prevent fraud. Alawuba concluded by expressing optimism that the bank would continue to improve its performance and meet new financial targets in the coming periods.
