***Total Assets up by 37.2% to N28.3 trillion**

***Customer Deposits hits N23.2 trillion, climbs 34%, Makes Profit Before Tax of N401.6bn**

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2024, showing impressive performance across some key financial indicators. The audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its gross earnings and operating incomes.

UBA’s GMD/CEO Mr Oliver

At the end of the first two quarters of the year, and despite the tough global macroeconomic climate in Nigeria as well as the geo-political environment challenges across major countries in Africa where the bank has subsidiaries, UBA recorded a 39.6 per cent increase in its gross earnings, which rose from N981.77 billion in 2023 to N1.371 trillion in June 2024.

Interest income also increased by 134.3 per cent to N1.003 trillion up from N428.2 billion recorded in June last year, while total assets went up by 37.2 per cent from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to close at N28.3 trillion. Customer deposits, also leapt by 33.7 per cent in the same period to close at N23.2 trillion up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.

The results filed showed that profit before tax(PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax(PAT)dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration. However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 per cent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.

In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc has declared an interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders, representing 300% increase compared to the N0.50 declared in the similar period of 2023.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, while commenting on the results underscored the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders. He said, “UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals.”

Continuing, the GMD said, “The Group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines. Our intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143% YoY to N675billion”.

On the plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”

The Executive Director Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency, as reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalizing around the 50% range.

“Our cost optimization provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” he stated.

He disclosed that the Group will focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of our moderate risk appetite in alignment with our sustainability goals.

“The Group has made significant progress and is on course to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. that we operate in,” Nwaghodoh further explained.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-five million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has been officially certified as a Great Place To Work for the year 2024-2025, marking the Bank’s second consecutive year receiving the Great Place To Work (GPTW) certification.

Great Place To Work is recognised worldwide as the global authority on workplace culture. With a comprehensive assessment of organisational culture, practices and employee feedback, the Great Place To Work certification serves as an unequivocal endorsement of an organisation’s positive work culture and commitment to employee well-being—as is the case with Wema Bank’s two-time Great Place To Work certification.

Wema Bank’s remarkable track record reflects an unwavering commitment to employee well-being and positive work culture. The Bank currently offers one of the longest standard leave days in the industry, provides employees with a Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to cushion the impact of economic fluctuations, provides employees with a standard crèche for their infants and a fully equipped gym for fitness enthusiasts, and within the year, also increased salaries for Non Full-Time Equivalent (NFTE) employees. From work-life balance to prioritising mental health for employees, promoting physiological wellness and enhancing professional expertise towards career success, upward reviews of allowances and a host of other unique benefits Wema Bank continues to curate for its employees; the Bank is evidently deserving of its successive Great Place To Work certifications.

Moruf Oseni, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, attributed the two-time certification to the Bank’s deep-rooted commitment to employee wellbeing. “At Wema Bank, we understand that our exceptional output as a Bank is a result of the dedicated input of our employees, the Wema Bank Knights, and we acknowledge the indispensable role they continue to play in our growth and success as a Bank. This is why we continue to pull all the stops in providing an enriching, productive, supportive and fulfilling work experience for our employees. This is a commitment that we will never compromise on”.

“We are honoured by the recognition accorded to us by Great Place To Work. This certification not only attests to our dedication to fostering a culture of excellence and empowering our employees with the best quality of work experience towards their personal and professional success, but also drives us to keep up the good work and exceed even more goals and expectations in enhancing employee experience. We take this as a challenge to go above and beyond in providing a fulfilling work experience for every Wema Bank employee and we trust that the strength of our internal framework will continue to reflect positively externally as we fulfil our lifelong goal of providing optimum value for every stakeholder of Wema Bank”, Oseni concluded.

Wema Bank earned its first Great Place To Work certificate in 2023, additionally bagging four awards at the Great Place To Work Awards 2023, which are: 2nd Best Place to Work in Nigeria (Large Corporate Organisation Category), Best in Promoting the Culture of Innovation by All, Best in Promoting Learning and Development Practices and The Victor Ligbago Award for Best Workplace for Millennials.

…Awarded; 
• SME Financier of the Year (Africa)
• Platinum Award for Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs (Africa)

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has received two awards of excellence at the Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards 2024 which held in São Paulo, Brazil between September 16 & 18, 2024. The awards received are SME Financier of the Year (Africa) and Platinum Award for Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs (Africa).

The Global SME Finance Forum is the world’s leading, technically oriented and geographically diverse platform focused solely on scaling SME financing worldwide. Managed by this Forum, The Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards is dedicated to acknowledging the effective and successful practices of financiers across the world, honouring the innovative products and services these financiers create for SMEs, recognising the impressive results in expanding finance and services to SMEs, and celebrating these exceptional financial institutions. Wema Bank emerged Africa’s top financier not just for the general SME landscape but also particularly for women-owned SMEs, at the 2024 edition of the annual Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards.

Reputed as the Bank of choice for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Wema Bank received recognition for its commendable track record of developing innovative, sustainable and significantly impactful products, services, solutions and opportunities for businesses of all sizes across Nigeria. The Bank’s impact ranges from affordable financing options and seamless payment collection solutions to access to market, digital solutions for efficient business operation and management, SME Advisory services, and a vast range of products tailored to the needs of businesses across every part of Nigeria. Through its women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema, Wema Bank continues to tailor its SME offerings specifically for women, helping these women build sustainable businesses and access the resources needed to scale and thrive. The Bank further supports overall growth and well-being of these women with affordable to free healthcare packages. It is beyond doubt that Wema Bank is indeed deserving of its recognition as Africa’s top financier for SMEs and particularly, women entrepreneurs.

Expounding on the Bank’s glaring commitment to empowering MSMEs, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, articulated the big picture for the Bank. “MSMEs make up the bulk of Nigeria’s economy and they are critical to not only mitigating unemployment and other macroeconomic challenges but also promoting innovation and significantly boosting the economy towards national development. At Wema Bank, we recognise the potential that MSMEs hold as well as the challenges that threaten the maximisation of this potential, and we have made a lifelong commitment to providing viable, seamless, accessible, affordable, reliable and effective solutions tailored to the needs of businesses of all sizes across Nigeria; especially women-owned businesses. There is a rising need for intentionally inclusive empowerment strategies in not only stimulating growth in the SME sector but also bridging the gap in gender equality, and we have undertaken the responsibility of fulfilling that need. As a Bank, our mission is to empower lives through innovation, and as always, we will continue to seek more effective ways to empower businesses for optimal productivity and sustainable growth”.

“We are honoured by the global recognition accorded to us by the Global SME Finance Forum and as we receive these awards, we reiterate our commitment to providing businesses with the resources they need and a bouquet of intelligent solutions that mitigate prevalent challenges and make business management and operation seamless, maximally profitable and efficient. Thank you to the Global SME Finance Forum for the acknowledgement, and also to our valued customers who continue to entrust the future of their businesses and their financial well-being in our hands. This prestigious recognition honours our unwavering commitment to empowering SMEs and fostering innovation in SME finance, further fuelling our drive to consistently go above and beyond in accelerating growth for SMEs and delivering optimum value to every stakeholder. We are indeed the Bank of choice for MSMEs and women across Nigeria, and we will never relent in empowering women to thrive and businesses to scale regardless of economic fluctuations”, Oseni remarked.

Wema Bank continues to raise the standards of banking and financial services in Nigeria, demonstrating a commitment to generating positive impact across diverse verticals, a dedication to exceeding expectations and a passion for empowering lives and businesses for success.

Businesses interested in accessing the Bank’s tailored range of finance options and business-centric solutions are encouraged to visit https://wemabank.com/smes or send an email to smehelpdesk@wemabank.com to get started.