Joe Dinga Pefok
22 December 2008
The Board Chairman of the Union Bank of Cameroon Plc, UBC, Eric Njong, has reassured its clients and the general public that the bank now boasts of a solid financial base and a good management team. He made the disclosure on December 18 in Douala.
The occasion was the handing back of UBC, by the Central Africa Banking Commission, COBAC, to its shareholders and to the new management team.COBAC, it will be recalled, had temporarily taken over the management of the bank, during which period the institution was being restructured.
At the end of the handing over ceremony, chaired by the Deputy Secretary General of COBAC, Rafael Tung Nsue, the visibly elated and highly optimistic UBC Board Chairman disclosed that the capital of the bank has risen from FCFA 5 billion to FCFA 20 billion. This, he disclosed, follows the coming into the bank of a strategic partner, the Oceanic Bank International, with headquarters in Nigeria.
Original shareholders of UBC also raised additional capital, he said.Njong disclosed that UBC's capital of FCFA 20 billion is far above the amount set by the banking authorities for commercial banks in the country and the sub-region. He said he was also very impressed with the high technical capacity of their strategic partner. "Oceanic is a technical partner that has the mastery of the banking sector. In fact, we now have high class professionals to ensure a strong management for UBC," he said.
According to Njong, the solid capital base as well as the strong management team that the new-look UBC is blessed with today, is a strong signal the institution is sending out. "It means that we are out to do banking; that we are out to work; that we are out to develop. We are now seriously shooting for the sky. There is nothing that will stand on the way of UBC becoming the leader in the banking sector in this country."
Commenting on what steps had been taken to avert the errors of the past, Njong expressed the conviction that, with the coming of a strategic partner of proven professional ability, such problems will never reoccur in the institution. "The Board will be more vigilant to make sure that management respects COBAC's ratios," he said.
Reacting to why UBC chose Oceanic Bank International as its strategic partner from eight financial institutions that had expressed interest, Njong explained that they focussed not only on the financial capacity of the aspirants, but, also, on technical know how and experience.
"We are convinced that we made the best choice. Our strategic partner is one of the best in Africa. They have both the financial and technical means to make UBC wax stronger. But it should be noted that we, the original shareholders, have also put in more money in terms of raising new capital for UBC. So, it means we are convinced of what we are doing, or else we would not have put in our money," the Board Chair argued.
Furthermore, Njong reassured customers of the bank that there is absolutely no reason to fear, considering that they now have the capacity to enable it function according to its slogan: "The People's Bank of Trust".
"Our customers will have first class services and there will also be a lot of money for them to be able to borrow whenever the need arises, as long as they fulfil the necessary conditions," he further assured.
"Oceanic Bank Shares Our Vision"
Meanwhile, in an earlier speech at the handing over ceremony, the Board Chairman of UBC expressed gratitude to COBAC and the Ministry of Finance, for their contributions to restructure the bank. He particularly thanked the outgoing COBAC 'Mandataire', Abraham Ndofor, for the great job he did to stabilise the bank. Talking about their strategic partner, Njong said "Oceanic Bank International is a bank that shares our vision".
He also expressed thanks to the entire staff of UBC who had to go through challenging times during the period that the bank was placed under restructuring. Now that they had succeeded in coming out of the dark days, Njong said the challenge for them is to work harder to make UBC the best in the country.
Dedicated Staff
On his part, the COBAC 'Mandataire', Abraham Ndofor, remarked that the staff of the bank has greatly evolved, as compared to when he came in to take over management of the institution some 18 months ago. "Today, I am leaving behind a team of very dedicated staff. These are ladies and gentlemen who do not only nurture the spirit of hard work, but they equally know how to work as a team, as well as how to work for progress."
As for the financial situation of the bank, Ndofor noted that when COBAC took over the management of the bank, the bank's liquidity had dropped from FCFA 16 billion to FCFA 12 billion. But he said he was happy to note that the situation has greatly improved, with a big increase in liquidity. "Today, UBC has FCFA 21 billion sitting in the Central Bank that can be accessed at short notice". He disclosed that deposits in UBC have risen to over FCFA 50 billion. "Today, UBC has a good relationship with its customers and some customers, who started leaving the bank, are back."
Ndofor also disclosed that his management succeeded in recovering over FCFA 3 billion of outstanding loans. He stated further that the days when the granting of loans by the bank was an affair decided upon by "one person" had since been over. He said credit contract at the bank had since been reformed, and now it is a committee that handles the files for loans.
According to the 'Mandataire', "UBC is a bank that has the resources that can enable it to become the leading commercial bank in Cameroon as well as the Central African Sub-region.
Another speaker at the handing over ceremony was the new General Manager of UBC, Abubakar Achimugu. He expressed thanks to Oceanic Bank International for giving him the honour to serve at UBC. He also praised COBAC for having carried out the noble mission of restructuring the bank. He assured the banking authorities that the new management will ensure that the bank functions in strict respect of laid down rules and regulations for commercial banks.
A Customer Friendly Bank
Asked what Oceanic Bank is bringing into UBC in terms of capital, Achimugu disclosed that the bank is bringing in some US $ 27 million (about FCFA 13 billion). Explaining the strategies UBC intends to use to better safeguard the money of its customers, the General Manager said: "All the credit procedures have already been looked at. And, we are very certain that the bank is going to be much safer and more profit driven."
Besides, he said, the traditional spirit of Oceanic Bank International, which is that of being customer friendly, will be fully implemented in UBC. He said that Oceanic Bank International is coming in with emphasis on the people - the customers. "We will also be supporting development projects in Cameroon.
We are a bank with strong emphasis on developmental projects with the Government and community where we operate. In fact, in all the countries where we operate, we are always very interested on how to impact directly on the community that we serve."
Achimugu disclosed that it is in line with this spirit that Oceanic Bank is to pay special attention to unions that are customers of UBC. "We are coming in with some specialised products, to see how we can impact on the lives of these union members whom we understand have sacrificed the most, and for a long time, for the interest of UBC."
Asked what attracted Oceanic Bank to UBC, Achimugu noted that the latter has a very strong clientele base and that the customers are very loyal. "UBC is already on the ground and we are going to be moving the bank forward," he added. As for their interest in Cameroon, he remarked that one of the major business areas in Africa is the Central Africa region and that Cameroon is currently the hop of this area.
He asserted that Oceanic Bank (website: www.oceanicbanknigeria.com), which is a bank of great international repute, is one of the largest banks in Nigeria and is presently the eight largest bank in Africa. It has branches in quite a number of African countries and is venturing into Europe and other parts of the world.
Birth Of UBC
The Union Bank of Cameroon, UBC Plc. (website: www.unionbankcameroon.com), was created by the Credit Union network. It was registered by the monetary authorities under Licence No. 03319/MINEFI/DMF/EC of September 8, 1999, and the bank effectively started operation on January 3, 2000.
The Registered Head office of UBC is in Bamenda, precisely at the NWCA Building, Commercial Avenue. However, the Headquarters in terms of Operational Services is in the nation's economic capital, Douala, precisely at 'Boulevard de la Liberté, Akwa.
UBC presently has branches in Yaounde, Bamenda, Limbe, Douala and Kumba. The foreign correspondents of UBC presently include ROBOBANK Netherlands, CITIBANK London, CITIBANK New York and BHF Bank Frankfurt.
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