Union Bank declares N25bn profit

Union Bank has declared N25.4 billion profit for the financial year ended December 2020, according to its audited financial statements.

The Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew from N24.7bn recorded in 2019. The net income after impairments grew by 8.3 per cent from N95.5bn to N103.4bn, translating into a 2.8% growth in the PBT of N25.4bn.

Its loans grew by 23.8% to N736.7bn from N595.3bn in 2019. The bank also recorded an increase in digital adoption, with a 38% increase in active users on UnionMobile channel, with total users now at 2.9 million.

UnionOne and Union360 platforms for businesses grew by 11% from 25,000 users to 27,700 users. It said 94% of transactions in the bank are now done digitally, up from 89% in 2019.

The bank also grew UnionDirect (agent network) by 6x from 3,100 to 18,100 on retail businesses.

Commenting on the results, the chief executive officer, Emeka Emuwa, said, “The bank has delivered a strong set of results notwithstanding the impact of COVID-19 on our operations and the wider economy, enabling the Board of Directors to continue to return value to shareholders with a proposed dividend payment for the second year in a row.

“In 2021, the bank will focus on enhancing revenues and shareholder value by revving up customer acquisition, engagement and transactions through seamless customer journeys and an optimised service delivery platform.”

The chief financial officer, Joe Mbulu said, “Our customer deposits hit a milestone during the year, crossing the N1 trillion mark to N1.131.1tr from N886.3bn in 2019, an increase of 27.1%. Low cost deposits were up by 17%, constituting 68 per cent of total deposits helping to push cost of funds down by 1.4%.”