Page 5 - LKM70

All of us at the United Bank for Africa are extremely proud and excited to be marking the 70th anniversary of our Bank’s existence - this significant milestone represents an inter- esting time for the entire UBA Group
as we seek to build on the successes
of the past and continue to pursue a future of sustained growth in an industry of increasing global importance.
Reflecting on the long history of UBA, without doubt we have evolved into
a global institution of choice since
the acquisition of a Nigerian banking license in 1949 when operations com- menced as the British and French Bank Limited. The name change in 1961 to United Bank for Africa was retained after the monumental merger with Standard Trust Bank (STB) in 2005. From the onset, the focus was to ensure
our operations transcend beyond the shores of Nigeria, a vision birthed by the founders of STB and reflected in
the corporate statements of the newly merged entity. From one country oper- ations at inception, we have grown to 23 presence countries comprising 20 on the African continent as well as USA, UK and France.
Much has changed since we first opened our doors 70 years ago. Leveraging our rich heritage, we have consistently broken boundaries within the financial services industry. UBA was the first Nigerian bank to undertake an Initial public offering and listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1970. After the merger in 2005, we became the first institution to have a balance sheet in excess of N1trillion, a feat achieved by competitors many years later. UBA stands tall among the Top 3 Tier 1 banks in Nigeria and it is our desire to take over the industry leadership within a short while.
The reason I recount these successes is to highlight the strong foundation our institution was built on and our innate abilities to achieve the audacious goals we set our eyes on. We have not rested
GMD’S MESSAGE
on our oars as we have continued to build on the successes of UBA.
Similar to other sectors globally, the financial services industry is also wit- nessing its own disruption and our Bank is amongst the leaders in creating this change. In January 2016, we embarked on a customer service transformation agenda tagged Project C1st. The ini- tiative was from the understanding that the Customer is our employer and the need for us to consistently do things from the stand point of the customer. An undisputable feature of a high per- formance organisation (HPO) is that they are customer focussed, proactively predict clients preferences, innovative, flexible and adapt to changes.
“
Much has changed since we first opened our doors
70 years ago. Leveraging our rich heritage, we have consistently broken boundaries within the financial services industry.”
UBA @70
we will climb from peak to peak whilst building a One Bank, One People, One Institution irrespective of background and language. We are all one Tribe... #CallitaTribe
To all our customers, we would not be here without you.
The story of UBA Group is being written, and as the next chapter unfolds, let us continue to sow the seed of hard work to reap the fruits of success and pros- perity for the future.
Happy 70th Anniversary to UBA!
This is the new institution we are building and which will form part of our laurels when we celebrate our centennial anniversary. The new movement driven by our 3-key levers of People, Process and Technology has started yielding tremendous results. Key amongst the recent achievement was pioneering the use of Artificial Intelligence (Leo) in rendering banking services. We have also continued to reward our peo-
ple instantly for high performance as against cyclical compensation in the industry. Our Processes are constantly being reviewed for improvement with a vision to rendering services that surpass- es customer expectations.
It is particularly gratifying to be cele- brating our 70th anniversary knowing that the future of our business looks bright. The fusion of the foundation laid by my predecessors and our C1st agen- da pivoted by the 3-key levers position us for sustained growth in the long term.
I say to all UBA employees, retired and serving, thank you for the valuable hard work you have put in daily in the last 70 years. The Bank remains appreciative and will continue to remember you for this commitment. Your efforts enable us to meet our goals, achieve our targets and with this sustained commitment