The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has released its achievement over the years as it kicked off celebration of its 75th anniversary on Monday while it shared its vision for long term successes in the financial sector.
According to the pan African financial institution, its depositors’ funds have grown remarkably to a record N18 trillion with about 35 million customers across African countries.
Speaking at the global press conference of the bank’s 75th anniversary in Lagos, Oliver Alawuba, UBA’s Group Managing Director (GMD), said these figures are increasing daily due to the support provided to key sectors in Africa to ensure the success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“We are committed to developing Africa. We are committed to supporting the key sectors that are pushing African economies wide and it is showing, even in our performances and in our businesses,” Alawuba said.
He emphasised that UBA means different things to different people. “For some, UBA is a trusted financial partner; for others, UBA is a beacon of stability and reliability, a development partner in various local communities as well as a catalyst for African development.”
Since its inception in 1949, he said, UBA has evolved from a modest beginning in Lagos Island to a global financial institution with a presence in 20 African countries and 4 global financial nerve centres (New York, London, Paris and Dubai).
“Today we have over 25,000 Staff, over 35 million customers served through multiple channels – over 350,000 POS terminals, 2,000 ATM terminals, 1,000 Business Offices and 19.7 million Card Customers,” the GMD added.
Responding to questions on how its African subsidiaries are contributing to the performance of the bank, Alawuba said UBA’s African subsidiaries are generating profits, contributing over 50 percent of the gross income of the bank.
He said UBA’s strategic expansion into African countries is proving successful, and the bank’s management plans to keep investing in Africa.
“I would like to give you a positive news that all the subsidiaries in Africa are profit-making and all of them are contributing more than 50 percent of the gross income of UBA and this trend will continue,” Alawuba said.
“So the vision of going into these countries is paying off and we will continue to invest in Africa.
“Indeed, it is United Bank for Africa and we will continue to invest in Africa. We will continue to deepen our market.
“Our market share in those countries is improving. In fact, if you go to some of the countries, UBA is the number one, number two, number three bank in these countries and some of them are appreciating the contributions of UBA to the economy, which have been very impactful.”
Alawuba said UBA’s primary focus is to move businesses between Africa and the rest of the world.
According to the GMD, Africans are doing less with each other and more with others hence, the need to encourage inter-Africa trade.
“So it will be easier for you, a manufacturer in Nigeria, to find a market in Ghana, or a Ghana manufacturer to find a market in Senegal. You need a bank that will put all this together and that is what UBA is doing,” he said.
Alawuba said the bank is collaborating with various partners to enhance inter-African trade in the coming years.
