UBA a pacesetter in innovation, generational ambition – Shettima

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has described the United Bank of Africa (UBA) as a pacesetter in innovation, emerging markets and generational ambition.

Shettima said this at a dinner to celebrate 75 years anniversary of UBA on Saturday night in Abuja.

According to him, the celebration of an institution like UBA that has outlived generations and still pushes with the vibrancy of youth is not something that happens everyday.

“UBA is not what it is because of the age of its ideas. It is what it is because of the attention it pays to innovation.

“It also pays attention to emerging markets, shifting dreams, and to the changing contours of generational ambition.

“UBA has remained a pacesetter because it is led by people who do not just manage capital, but manage curiosity,” he said.

Shettima attributed the bank’s staying power to its passion for relevance.

He said that UBA was a quintessential specimen of what an African institution could become by institutionalising excellence.

“UBA’s staying power is owed to its pursuit of relevance. It has stood as a reward for new thinking, expanding not just across geography, but across ideas.

“It serves millions, it shapes economies, and it influences the narrative of what an African institution can become when excellence is institutionalised and when well-intentioned dream-makers are in charge,” he said.

He commended the bank’s Chairman, Tony Elumelu, for leading it to such enviable heights.

“Elumelu has become a bridge between the old and the new, between the outdated and the emerging; he has won the trust of even the brilliant, digital generation,” Shettima said.

Earlier, Elumelu expressed gratitude to the Vice President while acknowledging the bank’s foundational history.

He emphasised the importance of honouring those who established the bank.

He expressed confidence in the bank’s continued success, tying it directly to Nigeria’s economic environment.

“We all are under the shields because someone planted the tree. The foundation of UBA was laid by people before us, we are only taking it further.”

“On the vision of the next 75 years, just keep transforming our domestic economy as President Bola Tinubu is doing, and UBA will keep roaring,” he said.

UBA’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Oliver Alawuba, highlighted the bank’s remarkable journey since its inception.

Alawuba emphasised UBA’s impressive expansion over the decades, adding that the bank now operates in 24 countries with 1,000 business offices, over 25,000 staff members, and a customer base exceeding 45 million people.

He demonstrated the bank’s robust performance, including a profit after tax of N766.6 billion and total assets reaching N30.4 trillion.

The GMD said that shareholders had been rewarded with a dividend of N5 per share, representing a dividend yield of 14.5 per cent, representing the highest among industry peers.

He also said that the group’s shareholders’ funds rose significantly to N3.419 trillion in 2024 from N2.030 trillion in December 2023.

“The 2024 financial performance demonstrated the bank’s continued focus on driving earnings growth, preserving asset quality, expanding business operations and deepening market share,” Alawuba said.

He outlined a vision for UBA to establish presence in every African country and expand to over 100 countries worldwide within the next 75 years.(NAN)