The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group recently held its first ever
Senior Leadership Forum reflecting the strategic importance and growth
potential of its pan-African business. UBA Group Chairman Mr. Tony O. Elumelu
convened the Forum to review the impressive growth that the bank’s African
network had made over the past 11 years and to provide a platform to reaffirm
and embolden its strategic goals.
The Forum brought together 90 participants, including the entire Board
of UBA, all Chairmen and all CEOs of UBA subsidiaries across Africa and the
United Kingdom. It was timed to coincide with UBA’s Annual General Meeting and
Group Board Meeting.
“We are one bank, the United Bank for Africa", Mr. Elumelu said as
he opened the Forum. “Bringing together our senior leadership talent from
across the continent and the distinguished leaders who chair our subsidiary
businesses is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to forge one bank for
Africa.”
“As long-term
investors and, may I say, pioneers in pan-African
commercial and investment banking, we are deeply committed to the markets in
which we operate and to harnessing the potential represented by the wider
African economy. Our intention is to be the leader in African financial
services, and our recent transactions show this. We see clearly the potential
of Africa” said Mr. Elumelu.
UBA subsidiaries operate in 18 African countries and now contribute more
than 25 per cent to Group operating revenue. UBA is increasingly recognized as
a strong pan-African brand, hailed for democratising banking in its countries
of operation whilst participating in landmark financial transactions,
including:
· A USD$1.2 billion oil
financing agreement with NNPC and Chevron where UBA provided funding for
Chevron and NNPC to develop 36 new oil wells that will significantly expand
Nigeria’s oil production capacity
· A USD $315 million facility
to the Government of Ghana for road projects on the strength of Road Fund
levies domiciled with UBA Ghana
· A US$250 million Crude
pre-payment facility for Democratic Republic of Congo-based Orion Oil
representing the largest reported transaction structured by an African
investment bank in 2015 involving fresh capital within the African market.
· A 234 million Euro oil and
gas financing deal with Société Africaine de Raffinage (SAR) of Senegal, which
underscored its capacity to fund big ticket transactions across Africa
· A USD $180 million to Delta
Energy Zambia for the procurement and supply of petroleum products to marketing
companies in Zambia
· A USD$90m University of
Dakar hostel construction project financed solely by UBA Senegal – African
capital, building African infrastructure for African education
“We have done a lot but in many senses we are only beginning to reap the
rewards of our network and potential. We are a truly pan-African institution
and after this period of consolidation, we know that the continuing
expansion of our Africa footprint is a key goal. We must ensure that we have
presence in at least 25 countries in the near to medium term, starting from the
UMOA and CEMAC zones,” said Mr. Fogan Sossah, Chairman of UBA Senegal during
the Forum.
In keeping with the objective of creating an institution worthy of the
patronage of clients and the trust of regulators and governments, the three day
forum focused on the critical issues and drivers for success across the
continent. Seminars were held on Corporate Governance, Corporate Institutionalisation,
Board Effectiveness, Compliance, Accountability and more.
Speaking on the breadth and depth of the Forum’s individual sessions,
Mrs. Gisele Mudiay, Chairman of UBA Democratic Republic of Congo said: “! Our
aspiration for the next five years is to pool knowledge of our individual
operating environments and leverage that knowledge to help our customers
realize their business goals.”
Noting the difficulties that exist in operating in the diverse economic
environments across the African continent, Mr. Ekoto Mukete, Chairman UBA
Cameroon said: “While we operate in challenging business environments, we
benchmark ourselves against global standards, which means we are able to add
real value to our stakeholders. This forum has ensured that we are an army of
one, working in each corner of Africa and driving toward one common goal.”
The approval of additional injection of capital into its East African
subsidiaries in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania was communicated at the forum as the
group re-affirmed its committment to growth in its countries of operations
across the continent.
Commenting on the importance of consolidating pan-African financial
expertise and exporting the successful Nigerian model, incoming Group MD/CEO
and previous head of UBA Africa, Kennedy Uzoka said: “I have experienced the
potential of our pan-African businesses. I know that we can and I commit to
ensuring our leadership across Africa. The Senior Leadership Forum reaffirms
UBA’s ambition to be the leading pan-African Bank across key indices – brand
equity, human capital, customer service and profitability.”
Other items on the agenda at the forum included Know Your Customer (KYC)
and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies and compliance standards across the
Group. The Group Compliance Officer Uche Ike stated that “compliance is
non-negotiable. We operate as a global bank, in global centres. We have seen
how swiftly internationally and within Africa banks have lost hard earned
reputations through laxity in policy compliance and we will not tolerate this
in UBA Group“.
The Forum coincided with the 54th Annual General Meeting of UBA(where
participants were also able to celebrate the Bank’s strong financial
performance) as the week long activities culminated in the dedication of staff
at the annual UBA CEO awards ceremony.
UBA reported strong financial results in 2015, in what is largely
recognized as a challenging macro environment. Gross earnings were N315bn
whilst operating profits stood at almost N70bn. UBA Africa operations currently
contribute approximately 25% of these earnings but are expected to grow
significantly and over time contribute as much as 50% to overall Group
profitability.
ABOUT UBA
United Bank for Africa (UBA) is one of Africa's leading financial
institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and 3 global financial
centres: London, Paris and New York.
From a single country operation in Nigeria, Africa's largest economy,
UBA has evolved into a pan-African provider of banking and related financial
services, to more than 11 million customers, through diverse channels globally.
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