The shareholders, at the 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank on Friday May 13, 2011 at Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, voted unanimously in support of the plans embarked upon by UBA in compliance with the ongoing banking sector reforms.
Under the new structure designed to drive the bank's operational efficiency and support its growth strategies, the umbrella company will be known as UBA Holding Company (UBA Holdco) with sub entities as follows; UBA Plc, UBA Capital Holdings, UBA Africa Holdings and UBA Properties.
"The holding company arrangement as proposed by the bank is good. It gives us shareholders the opportunity to be part of the holdco and a leeway into assets that are not hitherto part of the company" said Sunny Nwosu, one of the leaders of the very vocal shareholders groups in Nigeria.
In the proposed Holdco arrangement which is before the apex banking regulatory body the CBN for approval, UBA Plc will continue to be the flagship business of the group, provide banking services to customers through its large network of branches and an excellent suite of e-banking products whilst UBA Capital Holdings will be holding entity for all the non-bank financial services businesses of the group.
The third sub-entity; UBA Africa Holdings will oversee the bank's subsidiaries in the 17 countries in Africa to provide the focus required for the delivery of its growth objectives in the market, and a new entity; UBA Properties has been established for the management of the group's vast property assets and real estate investments which currently stand at over N100bn.
This new structure is the way to go in the new policy regime given our exponential growth and investments across Africa. We are beginning to derive significant values from these investments hence the decision to have a holdco that will keep our entire bank and and non bank subsidiaries within the group" said Mr. Phillips Oduoza, GMD/CEO UBA.
In spite of the challenging economic environment, UBA has been consistent in returning value to its shareholders. Shareholders of the bank at the AGM also approved the proposed bonus and dividend payout recommended by the bank for its financial year ended December 31, 2011.
The bank had proposed a dividend payment of 0.05 k to its shareholders and a bonus of 1 for every 4 shares held. United Bank for Africa Plc is one of Africa's leading financial services institutions offering banking services to more than 7.2 million customer accounts across 726 branches , 1,230 ATMs and 3, 900PoS units deployed across 18 African countries.
With Presence in New York, London and Paris, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments, trade finance and investment banking services.
Charles Aigbe Group Head, Corporate Communications
Marketing and Corporate Relations Directorate
United Bank for Africa Plc|UBA House (3rd Floor)
57, Marina, Lagos, Nigeria Office:
+234-1-3600822, 2807822
Ext. 18120 |DL: +234-1-2807120
Mobile: +234 802 501 0901
eMail: charles.aigbe@ubagroup.com
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