United Bank for Africa, UBA, says it has injected $100 million into some of its African subsidiaries.
UBA Chief Financial Officer Ugochukwu Nwaghodoh listed the countries as Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Mozambique subsidiaries.
According to Bloomberg, the bank expects its operations in 18 other African countries to account for half of its earnings over the next three years.
He further revealed that the injection into its subsidiaries last year will start having a “full effect” on income from this year.
In his words:
“UBA expects contributions from its foreign branches to increase from 45 percent last year even as the operations in its home market continue to grow.”
The bank recently released its 2017 financial statements which show a 20% increase in gross revenue form ₦383 billion in 2016 to ₦461 billion in 2017.
The bank’s UK subsidiary has also been issued a permit to carry out wholesale banking services in the UK.
The bank’s CFO further revealed that it is targeting an improvement in its return on equity, to 18 percent this year from 16 percent in 2017.
Specifically, he noted the bank is looking to boost its operations in Ghana and increase the capital beyond the minimum 400 million cedis ($90 million) that regulators require.
This he noted will bolster the buffers by capitalizing earnings, in which it transfers surplus income to its capital holdings, within the unit for 2017 and mid-year 2018.
UBA’s stock on the Exchange ended at ₦11.15 at the close of trading yesterday. The bank has also been migrated to the elite class of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
