Union Bank shareholders approve N50bn rights issue

Shareholders at the 48th Annual General Meeting of Union Bank Plc plans to launch a rights issue in the second quarter of 2017 to raise up to Fifty Billion Naira (N50 billion) in Tier 1 capital as it looks to accelerate business growth and position as a leading commercial bank in Nigeria.

The additional funding will also allow the bank to maintain compliance with regulatory capital requirements.

The bank reported a profit after tax (PAT) of N15.4billion on gross earnings of 126.6 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2016 Compared with a PAT of 14.3 billion on gross earnings of 117.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2015, this represents a growth of eight per cent in net profit and in earnings respectively.

Highlights of the bank’s financial performance in 2016 show that interest income grew by eight per cent to 98 billion from 90.9 billion in 2015, as a result of growth in the loan book and improved asset yields while noninterest revenue also moved up by nine per cent to 28.6 billon from 26.2 billion in 2015 owing to income from e-business channels.

Operating expenses (OPEX) increased by seven per cent to 62 billion from 57.9 billion in 2015 due to inflationary and devaluation pressures and ongoing investments in the bank’s technology and network infrastructure while gross loans grew by 38 percent to 535.8 billion compared to 388.8 billion in 2015.