Banking

UBA on Track to Meet FY2019 Target as Q3 Earnings Hit N428bn

Published

6 years ago

23/10/2019

Modupe Gbadeyanka

**Credit Expansion, Others Buoy Non-Interest Income

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The United Bank for Africa Plc this week released its financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

During the period under review, the company improved its gross earnings by 14.2 percent to N428.2 billion from N374.8 billion achieved in September 2018 and according to the Group Chief Financial Officer of UBA, Mr Ugo Nwaghodoh, this showed that “bank remains on track to deliver its earnings target for the [present financial] year.”

The lender, which boasts of a network that spans 20 African countries, the United Kingdom, the USA and France, grew its profit before tax by 24.2 percent to N98.2 billion from N79.1 billion in the same period of 2018, while the profit after tax significantly rose by 32.3 percent to N81.6 billion from N61.7 billion, leaving the company with an annualised return on average equity of 20.6 percent.

In the same period under consideration, the net operating income improved by 11.6 percent year-on-year to N266.0 billion from N238.4 billion achieved in the similar period of 2018, while it achieved a 22.1 percent growth in non-interest income, driven largely by the increased penetration of its superior digital banking offerings, credit expansion, remittances and other lifestyle transactional services.

Despite the double-digit inflation rate in Nigeria (its largest market) coupled with uncertainties in the business environment in the country, and in some countries in the rest of Africa, UBA’s curtailed operating expenses only increased by 8.4 percent and this was largely due to regulatory costs.

The financial institution continues to maintain a very strong balance sheet, with total assets of N4.96 trillion, an increase over the N4.87 trillion recorded in December 2018, while customer deposits increased to N3.37 trillion, with the shareholders’ fund remaining very strong at N555.53 billion, rising by 10.5 percent and reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation.

Group Managing Director/CEO of UBA Plc, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, while commenting on the results, stated that, “The resilience of our business model and our focused growth of earning assets have yielded a 10.8 percent growth in interest income.

“In addition to the commendable yield on interest earning assets, we also achieved a 22.1 percent growth in non-interest income, driven largely by the increased penetration of our superior digital banking offerings, credit expansion, remittances and other lifestyle transactional services.”

Commenting further, he said, “UBA remains committed to its vision of becoming the undisputed leading and dominant financial services institution in Africa.

“We will continue to innovate and lead in all our business segments, whilst delivering top-notch operational efficiencies and best-in-class customer service. We are beginning to realise early gains from our ongoing Transformation Program and I am indeed excited about the days ahead.”

Also throwing more light on the bank’s financial performance and position, the Group CFO, Mr Ugo Nwaghodoh, said “with the results achieved in the quarter under consideration, the bank remains on track to deliver its earnings target for the year.

“We were able to grow the loan book by 14.7 percent, (well ahead of our guidance) focusing on growth poles of various economies in which we operate.

“We have also developed new credit products targeted at specific consumer and SME market segments, and will continue to do so with strict adherence to best credit/underwriting standards, as we strive to achieve the statutory loan-to-funding ratio threshold set by the apex bank.”

Banking

Secure IT, StockMed, 18 Others Make Wema Bank Hackaholics 6.0 Top 20 List

Published

2 days ago

18/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.

The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.

The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.

They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.

They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.

The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.

In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.

The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.

After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.

“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.

“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.

“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.

“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.

“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.

Banking

Customs to Penalise Banks for Delayed Revenue Remittance

Published

2 days ago

18/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.

This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.

“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.

“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.

“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”

Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.

He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.

“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.

“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.

Banking

First Bank Deputy MD Sells Off 11.8m First Holdco Shares Worth N366.9m

Published

2 days ago

18/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.

A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.

It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.

The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.

Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.

He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.

Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.

He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.

He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.

At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.