UBA Recruits 4000 New Staff, Promotes Over 5,000 Staff members; increases Salaries Up to 170%.

Lagos, Nigeria, January 06, 2020: Over 5,000 staff of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, started the new year with a lot of cheer as the bank yesterday announced its promotion to new grades as well as salary upgrades with immediate effect this January.

Those who are beneficiaries of this exercise will receive up to 170% increase in their salaries and benefits, whilst a good number have been moved to higher grade levels.

In a carefully planned restructuring embarked upon by the bank in the last quarter of 2019, UBA has transformed its grading system and processes to become one of the most competitive within the industry. The bank crashed its grade levels to 12 levels from entry level to the top of the pyramid where previously it had been 16 levels. This means that staff will now find it much easier to attain top leadership management positions at UBA as their careers progress much faster.

In a massive recruitment drive , over 4000 new staff members resumed in the  last week of December 2019 in Nigeria alone at the bank. UBA currently stands as the highest employer of labour amongst Nigerian banks with a staff strength of close to 20,000.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, who announced the bank’s new staff improvement initiatives to the excited employees , noted that UBA is continually seeking new ways to improve the fortunes of its staff as they are the backbone of the organisation .

Uzoka who spoke to the staff in a bank-wide live broadcast said, “As a leading financial institution, we do not take issues relating to our staff lightly.  We take great pride in being a listening bank that has the ears of our employees as they turn the wheels which make the organisation successful for our customers and shareholders. UBA recruits highly talented staff who perform at the best standards and deserve to be remunerated accordingly’

Continuing, Uzoka said ‘ we have also taken steps to ensure that our bank remains at the top tier as it relates to talent pool. We want to train the best and we have crashed the grade structure to make it easier and faster for our employees to progress along their careers. With this new grade structure, it will be possible for a new graduate employed at UBA to rapidly chart their own careers and become GMD by the age of 36.”

UBA is one of Africa’s leading banks with operations in 20 African countries. The bank also has presence in the global financial centres of London, New York and Paris.  UBA provides banking services to more than 17 million customers globally, through diverse channels.

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GTBank Releases Q1 Unaudited Results, Reports Profit Before Tax Of N57.0Billion

Segun Agbaje, MD/CEO GTBank 

Guaranty Trust Bank plc has released its unaudited Financial Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.

The Bank recorded positive performance across all financial metrics with gross earnings for the period growing by 1.2% to ₦110.3billion from ₦109.0billion posted in March 2018. Profit before tax improved to ₦57.0billion from ₦52.6billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2018, representing a growth of 8.3%.

Customers’ deposits also rose by 6.0% to ₦2.410trillion in March 2019 from ₦2.274trillion in December 2018, whilst the Bank’s Loan book grew by 1.6% from ₦1.262trillion as at December 2018 to ₦1.282trillion in March 2019.

Balance sheet remained strong with the Bank closing the quarter ended March 31, 2019 with Total Assets of ₦3.556trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of ₦627.2Billion.

In terms of Assets quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk closed 7.03% and 0.05% in March 2019 from 7.30% and 0.34% in December 2018 respectively.

In addition, coverage for NPL stood at 90.12% while Full Impact Capital adequacy ratio remained very strong, closing at 22.25%. On the backdrop of this result, Post Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) closed at 32.79% and 5.76% respectively. These indices are pointer to GTBank’s strategic positioning in Nigeria and other Countries where the Group operates.

Commenting on the first quarter results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, said; “Going into 2019, we knew that it would be a challenging year, but our strategy and unwavering focus on delivering value for our customers and shareholders continues to underpin our ability to consistently deliver solid results despite changing market variables. We carried on the momentum of the previous year, posting strong growth in earnings, effectively managing costs and leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to deliver world-class services that are simple, cheap and easily accessible.”

He further stated that; “Whilst ensuring the long-term growth of our business is the greatest value that we can create for our communities, we are also leveraging our resources, expertise and network to help people thrive. That’s why, from April 28 to May 1, 2019, we are organizing the biggest food and drink festival in Africa to give small businesses in the food industry the platform, network and access to the markets that they need to grow.”

GTBank has continued to be best in class in terms of Profitability, Efficiency and Capital among Peers and other Financial Institutions in Nigeria. This is evidenced by its Earnings per Share of ₦1.74, Return on Equity (ROAE) of 32.79%, Cost to Income Ratio of 38.64% and Capital Adequacy of 22.25%.

These metrics are a testament to the efficient management of the Bank.

In recognition of the Bank’s bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service delivery and innovation, GTBank has been a recipient of numerous awards over the years.

Some of the Bank's recent awards include 2018 Bank of the Year - Nigeria from the Banker Magazine and 2018 Best Banking Group and Best Retail Bank Nigeria from World Finance Magazine.

UBA’s Leo launched on WhatsApp

Pan-African Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced the commencement of its chat bank ‘Leo’ on the WhatsApp platform.

With Leo on WhatsApp, customers who are users and lovers of the app can now can perform basic banking services including checking their balances on the go, transferring funds, paying bills, among other services.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, who expressed excitement about the development remarked that the bank is continuously working in line with customers’ demand to ensure that banking services are made convenient and without stress.

He said, “This only goes to show that our resolve in continuing to deploy innovative solutions that place customers first, using cutting edge technology for their collective satisfaction and excellent banking experience is important to us. This recognition will further spur us to do more in meeting the needs of our customers with unrivalled services.”

“Our recent launch of Leo in 13 other African countries is evidence that UBA has on its agenda, the objective of digital creativity especially in service for our trusted customer base across the African continent.”

Also speaking on the new service, the Group Head of UBA’s Online Banking, Mr Austine Abolusoro, stated “United Bank for Africa is a technology-driven institution with vast knowledge in the business that we do and Leo, being a tested dependable and intelligent personality, will replicate on WhatsApp, the success it has experienced on the Facebook Messenger platform.  It is a solution that is from the customer’s standpoint, easy to use by anyone regardless of your demography.” “Leo is ready and waiting to help with any form of banking services,” continued Abolusoro.

WhatsApp has been in existence for over 9 years, reaching more than 1.5 billion people in over 180 countries. The premium private chat platform has assured that there will be no spam messages as the development is to enable businesses serve their customers with useful and helpful information.

LEO is already present in over 14 African subsidiaries, including Nigeria, available in  three languages, and has now been rolled out to customers on WhatsApp. To use this service on WhatsApp, customers must add the LEO Whatsapp number: +234 903 000 2455 to their phone contacts, then search for UBA ChatBanking on WhatsApp to start enjoying the added convenience and ease of transacting with Leo on WhatsApp.

UBA is one of Africa’s leading banks with operations in 20 African countries and in London and New York, with  presence in Paris. Adjudged to be at the forefront of innovation and convenient banking, UBA is one of the first financial services institutions on the continent to deploy Finacle 10x, a new information technology platform that boosts its services and electronic banking channels. Today, UBA provides banking services to more than 15 million customers globally, through thousands of touch points and diverse channels.

AMINU BABANGIDA IS NOW THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF UNITY BANK!

IBB'S LAST BOY AMINU BECOMES UNITY BANK CHAIRMAN.

Aminu Babangida

Aminu Babangida is the younger sibling of the Polo loving Mohammed Babangida, who is the former military despot IBB's heir apparent.

He is known to be very quiet and one who avoids any type of unnecessary attention whatsoever. Even at going towards 40, he has remained single and therefore a most eligible Nigerian bachelor. Many single ladies of all colouration and physique have done their best to make him their big catch, but till date none has been lucky enough to capture him for keeps.

The well read somewhat recluse of a dude, who part manages a few of his dad's vast investments and is the Co-Founder of Phoenix Energy Abuja, has just become the Executive Chairman of one of Nigeria's financial institutions, Unity Bank PLC. This elevation was recently approved by the Apex Bank and announced.

Many have speculated over the years that the Babangida's like Chief Obasanjo have substantial interest in Unity Bank, where a known associate of the Babangida's in the person of Hajia Bola Shagaya was also a member of the Board of Directors at a time. At a point the elder Mohammed Babangida was also a Director of the same bank, but he might have relinquished the position for his much younger brother Aminu.

Why the well read Aminu- (he holds an BA in International Business, an MA in International Business Management, from Regents Business School London, and also from Westminster Business School London), has not taken a dashing young lady down the aisle has become very baffling. Maybe he is scared of the kind of experiences his elder ones, likes of Mohammed and Aisha have had to undergo with that institution in the past. Both Mohammed and Aisha have had some very unpalatable experiences in the past that might have scared their brother from making commitment with a very lucky damsel.

But even if marriage has not entered yet into the book of Aminu, it hasn't in anyway affected taking major strides in business. One of those major strides is this his new appointment as the Executive Chairman of one of Nigeria's Banks.

So congratulations to the new executive Chairman of Unity Bank PLC.