10 | The Lion King
in PEOPLE DEPENDENT consumer
Banking business).
What strategy can we employ to
bank the under-banked?
Prior to the recent CBN guideline
on financial inclusion, the
Bank had developed many
products to reach the over 50
million unbanked in Nigeria.
To demonstrate this, the Bank
decided last year that at
least 6 Million new accounts
must be added to the existing
customer base in 2013. With the
release of guidelines on the
CBN initiatives, we have further
developed and deployed
additional “low-KYC” variants
of our Freedom savings to cater
for the various categories of the
unbanked. Additionally, we also
plan to develop fliers, account
opening documents and other
documents in various languages
to ensure no one is excluded.
There is a growing demand for
retail banking services in Africa
due to the rising middle class,
how is UBA Group positioning
itself to sustain the current
growth rate and meet the rising
demand?
Yes, the opportunities in Africa
for growth of retail banking
business are huge and our
subsidiaries in Africa remain key
parts of the plan for domination
of the consumer banking
space. There are few areas
where there are challenges with
“domestication” and/or local
regulations, but we continue
to tackle them headlong. The
new Group revised structure
(effective June 1, 2013), creating
a Consumer Banking Group for
Africa will assist to speedily move
the Retail Banking business in
Africa forward even at a faster
pace.
Regulatory interventions and
other unforeseen environmental
factors often affect profit
projections and income lines
in the increasingly competitive
retail market. What strategies
have been employed to ensure
we always stay ahead of
competition?
Yes, I agree. Recently CBN
overhauled the tariffs and this
weighed heavily against Banks
with most sources of income
either reduced significantly and/
or removed completely. Savings
accounts rate for instance
now linked to MPR (presently
3.6%) amongst others. To stay
ahead of competition, we must
regularly review our products
to ensure they continually
meet and are delivered the
way the customers prefer. As
stated earlier, the key driver is
impeccable service delivery
and the group is working with
all the relevant units to ensure
quality service is not only
delivered, but is perceived by
the banking public to be so
delivered.
One of the drivers of the low
cost deposit is the availability
of consumer loans especially
to the salary earners. How are
you ensuring that the bank plays
well in consumer credits like
asset finance, salary overdraft
and long term consumer loans
to attract customers and retain
fund within the bank. Please
explain how you are dealing
with the issue of terminal
benefits given the fact that
pension is now outsourced and
most organization don’t pay
gratuity?
We have not done well in the
Consumer Credit arena. There
have been many challenges
ranging from challenges with
RMs knowledge; high NPLs in
many Business offices leading to
individual staff and/or Branch
suspension; suspension of some
credit products and poor TAT
in tackling industry/regulatory
induced challenges. These
challenges had resulted in loss
of some key accounts and we
have begun processes that will
enable us bounce back and
reclaim our pride of place. As
I speak, Management had
rescinded the earlier decision
to ban offices with high NPLs,
as well as giving approval to
address various challenges
including tenor, collateral, DSR
etc
The issue of Terminal benefit
is a regulatory challenge and
we have recommended for
approval soon, alternative
sources of collateral for loans
to Salary earners. We are also
exploring with UBA Metropolitan
Life (a life insurance company)
on possibility of alternative cover
that will be acceptable to the
bank.
What consumer banking service
do you believe Africans need,
but don’t have easy access to?
As Africa’s global bank, what is
the UBA Group doing to provide
this service?
Economic integration has been
a long-term challenge for
Africans in Africa. On the social
level, there is strong interrelation
between many Africans across
country borders (e.g. Benin -
Nigeria,/ Cameroon – Nigeria,/
Guinea – Sierra Leone,/ Sierra
Leone – Gambia, /Kenya –
Uganda,/ Zambia – DRC etc),
but facilities for payments and
remittances are largely inhibited
due to the multi-currency nature
of the continent. The available
Remittance offerings are largely
provided by foreign Money
Transfer Operators with a heavy
price tag. UBA Group via our
flagship product – AFRICASH,
has provided the solution to
Africans to meet this need. UBA
Africash is positioned to serve
(and will serve) all Africans
through all convenient channels.
What are your personal views on
the future of banking in Africa?
Africa has been on the threshold
of glory for a long time. Its main
challenge is the will to move
forward (by each country as
represented by their leaders).
The whole of Africa is like a
virgin but extremely rich land
awaiting cultivation. There are
huge banking opportunities
in Agriculture, Infrastructure,
Transportation, Entertainment,
Health, manufacturing, etc and
Consumer banking business is
embedded in all these given
that human beings who will help
make these happen ALL have
banking needs. As a group, with
presence in most key African
countries, I believe we are ready
to take advantage of these
growths as they occur and I
believe we already started well.
