United Bank for Africa (UBA) is Africa’s Global bank with a rich history spanning over seven decades. The bank which is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, is one of the most recognised financial institutions to originate from Sub-Saharan Africa with thriving operations in 20 African countries.
UBA provides corporate, commercial, SME, consumer and personal (retail) banking services to more than 27 million customers, served through diverse channels: over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points with 2,669 ATMs, 87,223 PoS, and robust online banking services. Additionally, UBA offers pension custody and related services.
The bank has proven expertise and capacity in key sectors of economies across Africa, especially in Oil and Gas, Infrastructure Finance, Agric, and Commodity/Export, and this positions us as a preferred partner for structured solutions to key governments and corporates operating in/into Africa.
Globally, banks are renowned to be engines of economic growth. They mobilize funds from areas of surplus to areas of need as well as give interest to the depositors and charge interest from the borrowers, thereby providing income for those who have idle funds, and earning income from those that borrow money to finance their businesses.
The economy of any nation grows faster when companies operating in the economy witness growth. And one sector that can facilitate the growth is the banking industry given its role in financial intermediation.
UBA is one of the banks that has helped in keeping the economy growing. The bank was innovative enough to help businesses in Nigeria and across Africa weather the storm with several loan facilities that helped change the narrative and eventually catalyse growth.
The best performers in terms of lending to businesses in the first quarter of the year2022 include United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Access Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Wema Bank Plc.
It is worthy of note that UBA did well to pull its weight firmly behind business in 20 African countries which helped in a great way to keep them afloat at a turbulent time occasioned by COVID 19 and inflation from the Ukraine / Russia war.
The supply gap in the economy is still huge and this will increase the demand for bank credit. As a result, banks like UBA are poised to create more credit this year to meet the rising Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate revised from 1.5 percent to 2.7 percent,” he added.
The problem of small and Medium Enterprise(SME) over-leveraging may have been exacerbated by policy responses to the crisis, which tended to focus on mechanisms that enabled firms to increase their debt (e.g. direct lending, loan guarantees).
Without a doubt the full potential for ensuring the expansion of entrepreneurs can be viewed from the performance of SMEs.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are seen as critical segments of thriving economies. Nigeria was no exception as the economy slipped into recession for the second time in four years as oil prices plunged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While bank financing will continue to be crucial for the SME sector, there is a broad concern that credit constraints will simply become “the new normal” for SMEs and entrepreneurs.
During the turbulent economic situation where businesses suffered under the weight of COVID, insecurity and other economic challenges, a few banks were upstanding and served as adequate life-line to businesses helping the economy surmount its economic challenges.
One of the banks worthy of mention is United Bank for Africa. The bank was innovative enough to help businesses in Nigeria and across Africa weather the storm with several loan facilities that helped change the narrative and eventually catalyse growth.
The best performers in terms of lending to businesses in the first quarter of the year include United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Access Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Wema Bank Plc. It is worthy of note that UBA did well to pull its weight firmly behind business in 20 African countries which helped in a great way to keep them afloat at a turbulent time occasioned by COVID 19 and inflation from the Ukraine / Russia war.
The supply gap in the economy is still huge and this will increase demand for bank credit. As a result, banks like UBA are poised to create more credit this year to meet the rising Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate revised from 1.5 percent to 2.7 percent,” he added.
Speaking on the bank’s recent loan position and consequent determination to buy the nation’s SME sector, Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, said “Our passion for Small Businesses and great ideas has never been in doubt and is evident in the firm support given to individuals and business as our loan products are tailored specifically to meeting the varying needs of all our customers.
Continuing, Alawuba said, “Despite the tumultuous impact of Covid-19 pandemic globally and across our 23 countries of operation, we created N519.0 billion additional loans as we continued to support our customers and their businesses. Customer deposits grew 48.1% to N5.7 trillion, driven primarily by additional N1.8 trillion in retail deposits.
“We have expanded market share considerably across the geographies where we operate and are consolidating our digital banking leadership in Africa. We will continue to leverage our diversified business model and dedicated workforce to further strengthen our position as ‘Africa’s Global Bank’.”
Also on the performance, the Group Chief Financial Official, Ugo Nwaghodoh said, “The persistent low-interest rate environment in 2020 exerted significant downward pressure on margins. Notwithstanding, our interest income for the year grew by 5.7% (to N427.9 billion), driven by 8.2% and 7.5% year-on-year growth on interest income on loans and investment securities respectively.
“Our interest expense declined by 8% (to N168.4billion) driven largely by a 34.2% decline in interest expense on customer deposits in our Nigerian operations, bringing down the Group’s cost of funds to 2.9%, from 4% in 2019.”
Also, the UBA Working Capital loan offers up to N50million to help business owners meet their cash flow needs and expand their business. A flexible collateral cover will be required depending on the loan amount and the nature of the customer’s business.
Other variety of loan offerings tailored specifically to meet the needs of different individuals also include Auto Loans where customers can get up to N15 million for part-financing of brand new vehicles for customers whose salaries are domiciled with the Bank. Vehicles purchased will be in the name of UBA/Customer’s name and they are available for all car models at selected dealer shops nationwide.
The bank is also positioned to be the Energy Bank of choice by offering our stakeholders value added customised financial solutions whilst maintaining high standards of professionalism towards all our customers
It has supported the various segments of the oil and gas industry. In the upstream it has supported major exploration and oil producing companies, just as is has also given support to the downstream with major oil marketing companies and independent marketers being major beneficiaries. These include the: refining, petrochemical and transport sector of the oil industry
