United Bank for Africa (UBA) has continued to set the pace for other banks in the country with strings of inspiring achievements which have made it live up to its Africa’s Global Bank appellate.

Speaking on Monday, 20 May, 2024, at a World Press Conference to mark the 75th Anniversary of the bank in Lagos, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Oliver Alawuba, stated that the Bank has pioneered several banking innovations in the banking industry which have made UBA the leading bank in Nigeria.

According to Alawuba, “UBA was the first commercial bank in Nigeria to offer Initial Public Offer (IPO); the first Nigerian bank to be listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE); and the first Nigerian bank to open branches in the United States of America (USA) and London”.

Furthermore, the UBA GMD/CEO stated that the Bank was the first to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country; first to open campus branch which it pioneered at the University of Lagos; and the first to open subsidiary in Africa with the one opened in Ghana in 2005.

UBA is also the first Nigerian bank to appoint first female board chairperson; first to introduce mobile banking in Nigeria; and first to launch most successful prepaid cards across Africa.

Alawuba stated further that the Bank has grown in leaps and bounds since its modest entry into the Nigerian banking industry in 1949.

“We now have 25,000 staff, cater for over 35 million customers through our multiple channels, have over 350,000 POS terminals, operating 2,000 ATM terminals, have 1,000 business offices and of course 19.7 million card customers,” he said.

Apart from all these, UBA is also present fully in 20 African countries while it is also operating fully in four global financial nerve centres: New York, London, Paris and Dubai.