UBA consolidates gains, gross earnings rise by 110%

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc recorded impressive growth across all major performance indicators in the first three months of the year with its gross earnings indicating a rise by 110 per cent.

An interim report of the bank for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 released at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) also showed that its pre and post profits grew by 155 per cent and 165 per cent respectively.

Its gross earnings specifically doubled from N271.1 billion in first quarter 2023 to N570.2 billion in first quarter 2024.

The bank’s top-line performance was driven by strong growth in the core banking operations with interest income rising by 130 per cent to N440.7 billion.

Its operating income doubled by 115 per cent from N175.7 billion to N378.59 billion.

Its profit before tax jumped by 155 per cent from N61.7 billion in first quarter 2023 to N156.34 billion in first quarter 2024.

Profit after tax rose by 165 per cent from N53.5 billion to N142.5 billion.

The balance sheet of the bank further expanded within the three months as total assets grew by 23 per cent to N25.4 trillion in March 2024.

Customer deposits also rose by 23 per cent to close the period at N18.4 trillion, largely due to growth in current accounts and savings accounts.

UBA’s Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, said the Group delivered a strong first quarter performance, building on the solid momentum of 2023, as well as the ongoing execution of its long-held strategy of customer focus, geographic diversification, and effective risk management and governance.

He said, “Our record Q1 profit before tax was delivered with triple-digit gross earnings growth, supported by very strong interest and non-interest income.

“Fees and Commissions rose by 118% year-on-year on the back of improved efficiencies and continued digital adoption.

“This has helped drive improvement in efficiency and customer satisfaction, with the Group’s cost-to-income ratio held at 57.8%.”

Also speaking on the performance, UBA’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said, “Our first quarter results highlight our relentless customer focus and the strength of UBA’s geographic and product diversification, with good performance across all our regions.

“We continue to differentiate ourselves across all key financial metrics, with a keen focus on high-quality risk adjusted revenues and cost discipline, while maintaining very sound asset quality.”

Forex: FG to delist naira from P2P platforms

The Federal Government is set to delist the naira from all Peer-to-Peer platforms to reduce the manipulation of the local currency value in the foreign exchange market.

Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, made this known on Monday at a virtual conference with blockchain stakeholders.

The goal of this resolution is to combat manipulation of the value of the local currency in the foreign exchange market.

In past months, the nation’s regulatory bodies have started looking into and closely examining cryptocurrency exchanges.

This is part of a number of regulations to be rolled out in the coming days.

He said, “That is one of the things that must be done to save this space. The delisting of the naira from the P2P platforms to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening.

“I want your cooperation in dealing with this as we roll out regulations in the coming days.”

The SEC DG decried how some market players were manipulating the value of the naira.

This, he said, was why the commission was “seeking collaboration and help in making sure that the crypto environment is respected globally”.