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UBA became the first Nigerian bank to make an Initial Public Offering (IPO), following its listing on the NSE in 1970.”
BY NONSO NDUANYA
Platinum is one of the rarest and most durable precious metals on earth, capable of lasting cen- turies without blemish. It is a true representation of
TIMELESSNESS, and the same reason 70th anniversaries are dubbed Platinum jubilees. Over the past 70 years, UBA has grown from a single country operation found- ed in Nigeria to a strong Pan-African corporate and retail network, offering excellent financial services to over 17 million customers through more than a thou- sand Business Offices and diverse channels globally.
A MUSTARD SEED IS PLANTED
After the second world war, at a time when interna- tional trade was burgeoning again between European Empires and their African colonies, the need for banks to serve as vehicles for the commercial growth of these empires in their colonies became very evident and this gave rise to the advent of the British & French Bank (B&FB) in Nigeria.
Nigeria, a British protectorate adjoining other French colonial territories, was in the middle of an economic boom and was the cornerstone of the West African economy. It was primarily through Nigeria that trade with a number of adjoining French territories flowed. So, in late 1949, the British & French Bank launched its first branch in Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria.
B&FB grew fast and attracted the interest of compa- nies from various sectors of the economy.
According to its business report for 1950, “the Lagos branch was already generating ‘considerable extra business’ in its first year of operation. In the following years, the B&FB network expanded to cover the differ- ent regions in the country, opening offices in Kano in 1953, Ebute Metta in 1955, Port-Harcourt and Apapa in 1956, Ibadan in 1958, Kaduna in 1960 and Enugu in 1961.”
Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 making it one of Africa’s most economically important countries. Prior to this, in 1958, new banking legislation was introduced, leading to the establishment of a central bank in 1959
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Photography: Sunday Balogun