International Rating Agency, Standard and Poor\u2019s (S&P) assigned\u00a0 its \u2018B\u2019
\nlong term and \u2018B\u2019 short term global scale counterparty credit ratings to
\nthe United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA). These ratings on the pan African
\nfinancial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, are at par with
\nS&P ratings on the Nigerian Sovereign. More so, S&P\u2019s \u2018B\u2019 rating is the
\nhighest rating currently assigned to any Nigerian-based financial
\ninstitution, thus reinforcing the respectable quality and strength of UBA,
\nthe third largest Nigerian-based bank by total assets, deposits and
\nprofits.<\/p>\n
The rating agency noted that UBA\u2019s market position is supported by its
\ngood franchise in the corporate and retail segments in Nigeria as well as
\ngeographic diversification, with operations in nineteen African countries
\n(Nigeria inclusive). More so, UBA is the only West-African bank with
\noperations in the United States, in addition to its presence in the United
\nKingdom and France. Recognizing the strong profitability and
\ncapitalization of UBA, S&P noted; \u201cWe expect that UBA\u2019s earnings will be
\nresilient despite the economic slowdown in Nigeria. We believe the bank\u2019s
\ncapital and earnings under our risk adjusted capital and earnings
\nframework will remain moderate over the next 12-18 months, with its
\ncapital adequacy ratio remaining well above minimum regulatory
\nrequirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
UBA\u2019s capital adequacy ratio was 19.7% at year-end 2016, which is well
\nabove the regulatory minimum of 15%, and we believe it will remain stable
\nover the next 12-18 months. Notably, the well capitalized position of UBA
\nreflects its\u00a0 strong profitability as well as the Bank\u2019s sound and prudent
\nrisk management practice. S&P assesses UBA\u2019s risk position as adequate and
\nposits that the ratings of \u2018B\u2019 reflects its expectation that the group
\nwill exhibit broadly stable asset quality in the next 12 months. The
\nglobal rating agency anticipates that UBA\u2019s credit losses will decline to
\nabout 1.0% in 2017-2018.<\/p>\n
Reflecting UBA\u2019s continued market share gain in low cost, stable deposits,
\nwhich account for 79% of total customer deposits as at 31 December, 2016,
\nUBA\u2019s funding and liquidity continue to wax stronger, as reflected in the
\naverage liquidity ratio of 42% in 2016, amidst the tight market conditions
\nin Nigeria. S&P considers the bank\u2019s funding to be above average and its
\nliquidity as adequate, owing to its stable and relatively low-cost,
\nretail-deposit-based funding profile. Despite tightening monetary policy
\nin Nigeria in 2015-2016, the bank has been able to maintain a stable cost
\nof funding at about 3.7% as of December 31, 2016\u201d. The Group reported a
\nnet stable funding ratio of 143% as of the same date and exhibits one of
\nthe lowest levels of loan leverage among Nigerian peers. Broad liquid
\nassets covered short term wholesale funding about 4x as of the same date.<\/p>\n
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution,
\noffering banking services to more than fourteen million customers across
\nover 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 19 African
\ncountries. With presence in New York, London and Paris, UBA is connecting
\npeople and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and
\ncorporate banking, innovative cross border payments and remittances, trade
\nfinance and ancillary banking services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International Rating Agency, Standard and Poor\u2019s (S&P) assigned\u00a0 its \u2018B\u2019 long term and \u2018B\u2019 short term global scale counterparty credit ratings to the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA). These…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n