UBA gearing up for capital raise ‘in a few weeks,’ says CEO

United Bank for Africa (UBA) is preparing to launch a capital raise within the coming weeks to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive for banks to bolster their capital positions.

Oliver Alawuba, UBA’s group managing director/CEO, shared the bank’s plans during an interview at the 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, D.C., shedding light on the bank’s approach to the recapitalisation initiative.

“The recapitalisation exercise has four options,” Alawuba explained. “One is to do a public offer, rights issue, acquisition and merger, or to come down on authorisation. For UBA, we ruled out acquisition and merger. UBA will raise the capital, and we still have between now and March 31, 2026, but in the next few weeks, we will commence the process.”

He added that UBA has already submitted applications to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval, underscoring that “UBA is positioned quite strongly to meet that recapitalisation mandate.”

In a high-interest-rate environment, Alawuba remains optimistic of the success of the rights offer, citing UBA’s extensive reach and portfolio across multiple African markets.

“Anyone who’s buying UBA shares is buying businesses in 24 countries,” he stated.

“You are buying a very diversified portfolio. So you are not concentrating on the issues in Nigeria, which can change in a few months. The high-interest rate regime mentioned can change in the medium term in Nigeria. But UBA is in 24 countries; a piece of the share is a piece of businesses across these 24 countries.”

Addressing UBA’s unique presence in the U.S. banking sector, Sola Yomi-Ajayi, CEO of UBA America, emphasised UBA’s position as the only African bank with a national banking license in the United States. “We are proud to say that UBA is the only bank originating from Africa that is present in the United States of America, regulated with a national banking license, regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC),” she noted, highlighting UBA’s role in facilitating international trade between Africa and the global market.

“UBA America is a settlement bank for so many banks out of Africa,” Yomi-Ajayi said, noting that the bank’s deep understanding of African markets has also enabled it to serve numerous central banks. “UBA America is also banking many central banks because they understand African business, and they are able to bank many central banks as even reserve banks of the central banks.”

As UBA prepares to embark on this capital raise, its leadership remains confident that the bank’s broad geographic reach and diversified assets across Africa and internationally will appeal to investors, supporting the institution’s ability to meet Nigeria’s latest banking sector requirements.