By Mary Onyia
Africa’s global bank, United Bank for Africa Plc, has announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025, recording total assets growth of 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.
The results, released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Friday, showed that the group also delivered gross earnings of N3.09 trillion, down from N3.19 trillion recorded the previous year.
Although recording a slight drop in gross earnings, the performance was still strengthened by resilient core business fundamentals and a diversified Pan-African footprint, even as the year reflected a strategic repositioning of its balance sheet for sustainable long-term growth.
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.
These changes, which are largely non-recurrent in nature, weighed on profitability but are not expected to recur at similar magnitudes in future periods.
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 further analysis of the firm’s 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.
Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, 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 new recapitalisation requirements.
“The Group successfully concluded a 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.
“We have also made significant investments in innovation, technology, and resources to drive our payment and digital offerings; this will help scale digital-led income streams across our markets”, he said.
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.
“With expectations of over N1 trillion in additional growth in the near term, the Group remains committed to driving sustainable earnings, deepening financial inclusion, and delivering superior value to shareholders across all its markets”.
On his part, UBA’s Executive Director, Finance & Risk Management, 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 normalizing macroeconomic environment.
“We believe that proactively recognizing 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 N282.5bn 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 N4.25tn and a capital adequacy ratio at 23.2 per cent, having exited the CBN forbearance regime in 2025.
“With deliberate steps we have taken to reposition our Nigerian operations, we are well placed to cautiously drive risk asset growth in line with improving macroeconomic conditions.
“The bank is also intensifying recovery efforts on the provisioned loans, creating a clear pathway for earnings upside”, Nwaghodoh explained.