UBA Crosses N33.2trn Asset Mark As Pan-African Footprint Expands

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has crossed the N33.2 trillion total assets threshold in 2025, underlining the bank’s pan-African scale and sustained growth momentum.

The Bank’s audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025, showed that total assets grew 9.4 per cent to N33.2 trillion up from N30.3 trillion at the end of 2024, alongside an 11.8 per cent increase in customer deposits from N24.3 trillion in 2024 to N27.2 trillion.

Group also delivered strong gross earnings of N3.09 trillion from N3.19 trillion recorded the previous year.

Overall, the bank’s 2025 performance was impacted by prudent and forward-looking risk management decisions, including loan loss provisions of N331 billion and fair value changes on derivatives amounting to N278 billion.

Despite this, the Group maintained strong underlying performance, with operating profit exceeding N1 trillion before these exceptional items, highlighting the resilience of its core banking operations.

A critical look at the performance showed that UBA’s capital position remained robust, with shareholders’ funds rising to N4.25 trillion in 2025; up from N3.42 trillion the previous year, with share capital and premium hitting N505 billion following a very successful rights issue.

The Group’s capital adequacy ratio of 23.2 per cent provides a solid foundation to support future growth, just as the Bank has also strengthened its recovery efforts, with a fortified recovery team aggressively pursuing delinquent exposures, ensuring that recoveries will positively impact earnings from full year 2026 and beyond.

Operating in 20 African countries and in the US, UK, France and UAE, the Group’s Pan-African operations continue to be a major growth driver, contributing over 50 per cent of total assets, revenue, and profit. Notably, West Africa operations recorded a 53 per cent profit growth, while East and Southern Africa delivered a 61 per cent increase, reinforcing the strength and scalability of UBA’s diversified business model across the continent.

Speaking on the results, group managing director/chief executive officer, UBA, Oliver Alawuba, said, the bank continues to demonstrate the true strength of its Pan-African diversified model, despite the moderation in bottom-line performance compared to the prior year’s highs, as core business engines, especially in the subsidiaries outside Nigeria delivered double-digit growth.

“The 2025 financial year was defined by UBA’s proactive approach to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new recapitalisation requirements. The Group successfully concluded capital raising programme, which was oversubscribed, reflecting strong investor confidence in UBA’s long-term growth strategy. A total of N395 billion additional capital was raised, enhancing our capacity to support our footprints, and expanding lending to key sectors.”

In his forecast for the 2026 financial year, Alawuba stated, “looking ahead, UBA is well-positioned to accelerate growth, with plans to strategically expand its risk asset base across key sectors as macroeconomic conditions improve.”

Also, executive director, Finance & Risk Management, UBA, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the 2025 financial year marked a deliberate strengthening of the balance sheet and a shift toward more sustainable, higher-quality earnings in a normalising macroeconomic environment.

“We believe that proactively recognising potential credit losses positions us well to navigate uncertainties and support sustainable performance in future periods. The reversal of prior-year derivative gains and foreign exchange-related losses of N282.5 billion drove a decline in non-interest income; these will not recur in this magnitude and should result in future earnings upside,” he explained.

According to him, despite the impact of these changes on profitability, the bank’s core business fundamentals as well as its capital and liquidity positions remain strong, with shareholders’ funds now at N4.25 trillion and capital adequacy ratio at 23.2 per cent, having exited the CBN forbearance regime in 2025.