Banking
UBA to Sustain Prudent Risk Management Practices—Uzoka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, has assured shareholders and stakeholders of the bank that the prudent management practices, which have made the lender to churn out good results, would be sustained.
Mr Uzoka said this while commenting on the first quarter results of the company for the period ended March 31, 2020, where the financial institution recorded double-digit improvement across its major income lines.
The bank chief said he was happy with UBA’s performance in the first three months of this year despite the challenging business environment.
“We are pleased with our top and bottom lines in the first quarter of 2020, delivering N147.2 billion in gross earnings and profit before tax of N32.7 billion.
“The double-digit growth in the topline testifies to the resilience of our business model as a group, even as the 17 percent growth in our fees and commission income underscores our diversified business model, enabling us to deliver best value to our stakeholders, even in tough macroeconomic scenarios,” he said.
According to him, “The bank leveraged on modest growth in both interest and non-interest income as well as increased efficiency to deliver an impressive 8.5 percent year-on-year growth in profit before tax in the first three months of 2020, to N32.7 billion compared with N30.2 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2019.
“Again, UBA sustained its strong profitability recording an annualized 20 percent Return on Average Equity (RoAE),” Mr Uzoka stated.
The GMD noted that “the recent successes we have recorded in all our business segments, especially our retail and electronic banking businesses within the period” have been encouraging.
He said in Q1 2020, retail deposits accounted for 72 percent of customer deposits even as cost-of-funds moderated to 3.3 percent.
“We will continue to grow market share in all our markets, whilst maintaining cost discipline across our businesses, driving efficiency in our processes using best-rated technology,” he assured.
Speaking on customers’ growing concerns on banking services during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Uzoka explained that the bank has put in place various strategic channels to ensure that customers transactions are effectively carried out with ease.
“In response to the spread of COVID-19 several national governments have announced a partial or total lock down in a number of our markets, post Q1 2020.
“Fortunately, we have built robust electronic channel platforms to enable us effectively serve our customers from the convenience of their homes.
“Despite the lock down, our banking channels have remained open to our customers 24/7, even as we continue to align and adapt our operating model to ensure we service our customers excellently and safely,” he said.
Mr Uzoka noted that as economies and businesses adjust to the headwinds occasioned by the novel COVID-19 pandemic, the bank has been identifying emerging strategic opportunities arising from this and positioning to take full advantage of this to delight customers and create value for stakeholders.
“We also remain committed to our prudent risk management practices, as profitable growth and good asset quality remain our priority in 2020,” he stated.
UBA, driven by a year-on-year growth in interest income, recorded a 11.8 percent year-on-year growth in gross earnings to close at N147.2 billion for the three months period ending March 2020, compared with N131.7 billion recorded in the first three months of the year 2019.
The bank’s total assets also rose by 13.4 percent to N6.4 trillion in the period under review in contrast to N5.6 trillion recorded at the end of the 2019 financial; while shareholders’ funds grew to N612.6 billion from N597.9 billion in the same period.
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.
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.
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.
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