# United Bank for Africa

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is a multinational pan-African financial services group headquartered in Lagos Island, Lagos and known as Africa’s Global Bank. It has subsidiaries in 20 African countries and offices in London, Paris and New York. In December 2021, UBA received its banking license to commence operations in the UAE. It is listed as commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The shares of stock of the group are listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, where they trade under the symbol: UBA. The Group Chairman of the bank is Tony Elumelu and the GMD/CEO is Oliver Alawuba.

## Current executives

The table below shows the current Group Board of United Bank for Africa:
United Bank for Africa Group Board :
| S/N | Name of executive | Title/designation |
| 1 | Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R. | Chairman |
| 2 | Oliver Alawuba | Group Managing Director/CEO |
| 3 | Muyiwa Akinyemi | Deputy Managing Director |
| 4 | Abiola Bawuah | Executive Director, CEO Africa |
| 5 | Alex Alozie | Executive Director, Group Chief Operating Officer |
| 6 | Ugochukwu Nwagodoh | Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management |
| 7 | Sola Yomi-Ajayi | Executive Director, Treasury & International Banking |
| 8 | Isaac Olukayode Fasola | Non-Executive Director |
| 9 | Owanari Duke | Non-Executive Director |
| 10 | Erelu Angela Adebayo | Non-Executive Director |
| 11 | Alhaji Abdulqadir Jeli Bello (FCA) | Non-Executive Director |
| 12 | Angela Aneke | Non-Executive Director |
| 13 | Aisha Hassan Baba, OON | Non-Executive Director |
| 14 | Caroline Anyanwu | Non-Executive Director |

## Overview

United Bank For Africa is a large financial services group in Nigeria and on the African continent. As of September 2024, the group's financial assets were valued at ₦31.801 trillion (US$18.9 billion), with shareholders' equity of ₦3.585 trillion (US$2.0 billion). At that time the group employed in excess of 25,000 staff worldwide and its customer base exceeded 45 million accounts. The group maintains subsidiaries in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, Cameroon, Kenya, Gabon, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Mozambique, Senegal, DR Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Mali, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, and United Arab Emirates. In November 2024, with worldwide staff numbering in excess of 25,000, the group opened full banking operations in France. At that time its global customer base exceeded 45 million accounts.

## History

The British and French Bank Limited (BFB) commenced business in Nigeria in 1948. BFB was a subsidiary of Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI) in Paris, which transformed its London branch into BFB as a separate subsidiary. Banque Nationale de Credit and two British investment firms, S.G. Warburg and Company and Robert Benson and Company, held shares in BFB.
Following Nigeria's independence from Britain, UBA was incorporated on 23 February 1961 to take over the business of BFB.
In 1970, UBA listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and became the first Nigerian Bank to undertake an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Today's UBA emerged from the merger of the dynamic and fast-growing Standard Trust Bank, incorporated in 1990, and UBA, one of the biggest and oldest banks in Nigeria. The merger was consummated on 1 August 2005, and was one of the largest mergers completed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Following the merger, UBA further expanded its brand through acquiring Continental Trust Bank that same year. In 2006, UBA acquired Trade Bank, which was under liquidation by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the time.
UBA had another successful combined public offering rights issue in 2007 and made further acquisitions of three liquidated banks: City Express Bank, Metropolitan Bank, and African Express Bank. UBA also acquired Afrinvest UK, rebranding it UBA Capital, UK. The quest to build a strong domestic and African brand intensified in 2008 when UBA made further acquisitions of two liquidated banks: Gulf Bank and Liberty Bank.
UBA has a broad footprint across Africa and the world. It maintains subsidiaries in the following countries*, listed in the order of their commencement of banking operations:
Order of UBA's Commencement of Banking Operations by Country :
| Commencement of Banking Operations | Countries |
| 1948 | Nigeria |
| 1984 | United States |
| 2005 | Ghana |
| 2007 | Cameroon |
| 2008 | Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda |
| 2009 | Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania |
| 2010 | Guinea, Mozambique, Zambia |
| 2011 | Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| 2012 | Benin |
| 2018 | United Kingdom |
| 2019 | Mali |
| 2022 | Dubai |
*UBA maintains a representative office in Paris, France.

## Subsidiaries

The table below illustrates the locations and Group shareholding in the subsidiary banks of the UBA Group Plc.
List of UBA Group Subsidiary Banks :
| Rank | Country | Subsidiary | Shareholding |
| 1 | United States | UBA America | 100 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | UBA United Kingdom Limited | 100 |
| 3 | France | UBA France S.A. | 100 |
| 4 | Nigeria | UBA Nigeria Limited | 100 |
| 5 | Benin | UBA Benin | 84 |
| 6 | Burkina Faso | UBA Burkina Faso | 64 |
| 7 | Cameroon | UBA Cameroon S.A. | 100 |
| 8 | Chad | UBA Chad S.A | 89 |
| 9 | Republic of the Congo | UBA Congo Brazzaville | 100 |
| 10 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | UBA Congo DRC | 100 |
| 11 | Ivory Coast | UBA Côte d'Ivoire | 100 |
| 12 | Gabon | UBA Gabon S.A. | 100 |
| 91 |
| 14 | Republic of Guinea | UBA Guinea Conakry S.A. | 100 |
| 15 | Kenya | UBA Kenya Limited | 81 |
| 16 | Liberia | UBA Liberia Limited | 100 |
| 17 | Mali | UBA Mali | 100 |
| 18 | Mozambique | UBA Mozambique | 96 |
| 19 | Senegal | UBA Senegal S.A. | 86 |
| 20 | Sierra Leone | UBA Sierra Leone Limited | 100 |
| 21 | Tanzania | UBA Tanzania | 82 |
| 22 | Uganda | UBA Uganda Limited | 69 |
| 23 | Zambia | UBA Zambia Limited | 100 |
| 24 | United Arab Emirates | United Bank for Africa plc (DIFC Branch) | 100 |

## Awards

* Winner, Best Regional Bank in West Africa for the year 2024 by the African Bank Awards.
* Bank of the Year Africa in 2023 at The Bankers Awards 2023, by The Banker Magazine – a publication of Financial Times of London.
* It won the World’s Best Frontier Markets Bank in 2024 by Global Finance.