UBA Makes Crucial Appointments As It Escapes Last Position On 2019 Most Profitable Bank

The Group Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu has reacted to the appointment of Ayoku Liadi and Oliver Alawuba as Deputy Managing Directors of United Bank for Africa's (UBA) Nigeria and Africa businesses, respectively. He clarified the purpose of their appointment after the position was created to have Liadi and Alawuba on the management. The decision comes after AllNews released the list of most profitable banks in Nigeria for 2019.

Elumelu said the decision was taken to best served UBA's clients as the bank is present in 20 African countries, serving over 20 million clients, "In 2005, we set out our pan-African vision. Fifteen years later, we are present in 20 African countries, serving over 20 million clients... These senior appointments represent our commitment to optimise our management structure to best serve our clients and drive our business success,” Elumelu said in a statement obtained by AllNews.

The bank further stated that Liadi and Alawuba will report to Group Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka. Both appointments are viewed as the reflection of UBA's growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 40% of group revenue. Prior to his recent appointment, Alawuba was Regional CEO for UBA in Anglophone Africa. He has spent 20 years in UBA, becoming CEO for the Group’s Africa operations, and UBA Ghana CEO.

Liadi joined UBA six years ago, and two years later, he becomes the Executive Director of Lagos and West bank in Nigeria. Meanwhile, a member of the UBA Group Board, Dan Okeke, is expected to retire from the board on August 1, 2020. Okeke is currently an Executive  Director on the board.

Changes Came After UBA Emerges Fourth Most Profitable Bank

AllNews had released its five bank list of the most profitable bank in Nigeria last year. Out of the five bank list, UBA came fourth after generating N89.089 billion profit after tax in 12 months. The figure placed UBA behind three other banks as UBA couldn't break into the hundred billion naira club in 2019.

AllNews tracked UBA's financials, and it was also reported that in 2018 also, UBA was below the hundred billion naira mark, generating N78.607 billion profit after tax. However, UBA's profit before tax broke the barrier to reach N111.287 billion in 2019, surpassing the N106.766 billion generated as profit before tax in 2018.

Meanwhile, the revenue of UBA was capped at N559.805 billion last year, also surpassing the N494.045 billion revenue generated in 2018 full year. Note that UBA reported that it spent N1.6 billion on marketing in the first quarter of this year. This shows a reduction in UBA's budget when compared to the N1.7 billion spent in the corresponding period of Q1 2019.

Also, AllNews reported that UBA is part of a system in the banking industry that support cheap labour as the use of contract staff by bankers grow among banks. The number of contract staff keeps rising in the banking industry, leading to 41.7 per cent rise in two years. Banks are favouring cheap labour which robs workers of welfare package and other essential entitlements.

Note: UBA stock price has remained stagnant in the stock market since July 3, 2020, trading at N6.05 kobo per share after falling from N6.20 kobo per share of July 1, 2020. UBA stocks currently trade at N6.05 kobo per share.