Tony Elumelu’s UBA Legacy: The Numbers Behind 12 Years of Building a Pan-African Banking Giant

Tony Elumelu has stepped down as Group Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), ending a 12-year tenure that reshaped the lender into one of Africa’s largest banking groups.

His departure follows the expiration of the maximum tenure for non-executive directors under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s corporate governance rules.

During his chairmanship, UBA expanded its presence across Africa and strengthened its international footprint, while reporting record earnings, growing its customer base beyond 50 million, and becoming one of the continent’s largest financial institutions by assets.

UBA expanded across Africa and global financial centres

One of the defining features of Tony Elumelu’s tenure was UBA’s expansion beyond Nigeria.

The bank now operates banking subsidiaries in 20 African countries while maintaining operations in four major international financial centres—New York, London, Paris and Dubai—allowing it to facilitate trade, investment and cross-border banking between Africa and global markets.

Its customer base more than doubled during the period, rising from about 25 million to over 50 million customers worldwide.

The expansion also increased UBA’s workforce to approximately 25,000 employees across Africa and its international operations, making it one of the continent’s largest banking employers.

Record financial performance

UBA recorded some of its strongest financial results during Elumelu’s final years as chairman.

The group generated gross earnings of ₦3.2 trillion in 2024, the highest in its history. Profit after tax climbed to ₦767 billion, while customer deposits rose to ₦24.6 trillion as the bank continued expanding its retail and corporate banking operations across multiple markets.

The lender also distributed ₦171 billion in dividends during a single financial year, representing a 79% increase from the previous period and rewarding shareholders amid sustained earnings growth.

Africapitalism shaped UBA’s expansion

Throughout his leadership, Elumelu promoted the philosophy of Africapitalism, which argues that Africa’s private sector should play a central role in creating economic prosperity and long-term development.

That strategy translated into a deliberate focus on expanding UBA’s regional banking network rather than concentrating growth within Nigeria alone.

By the end of his tenure, offshore African subsidiaries contributed 51.7% of the group’s total revenue, reducing dependence on a single domestic market and providing a diversified earnings base across multiple economies.

UBA strengthened its position among Africa’s largest banks

During Elumelu’s chairmanship, UBA became one of Africa’s leading banking groups, competing directly with Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.

By total assets, UBA ranked among Nigeria’s largest lenders.

• Access Holdings: approximately ₦52.19 trillion
• UBA: approximately ₦32.49 trillion
• Zenith Bank: approximately ₦31.17 trillion
• GTCO: approximately ₦16.65 trillion

While Access Holdings pursued rapid expansion through mergers and acquisitions, UBA relied largely on organic growth by establishing banking operations across African markets.

Strong returns and digital banking growth

UBA also distinguished itself through profitability and digital banking.

The bank delivered a return on equity of 41.13%, placing it among the strongest performers within Africa’s banking industry and exceeding the 21.60% reported by Access Holdings during the same period.

Its electronic banking business generated ₦236 billion in fee income, supported by its extensive retail customer base and expanding digital channels across African markets.

The combination of geographic diversification, digital banking growth and strong profitability enabled UBA to remain competitive against rivals that maintain a stronger concentration in Nigeria or selected West African markets.

Shareholder value grew alongside capital strength

The period also coincided with tighter capital requirements introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

As tier-one banks strengthened their balance sheets to meet recapitalisation targets, UBA increased shareholder returns through higher dividend distributions while expanding shareholders’ funds alongside Nigeria’s largest banking groups.

The bank’s growing international earnings also provided additional resilience against currency volatility and economic pressures affecting individual African markets.

One of Nigeria’s largest banking investors

Beyond serving as chairman, Elumelu remains one of UBA’s biggest shareholders. He is estimated to control approximately 16% of the bank through direct and associated holdings, making him one of the largest individual investors on the Nigerian Exchange.

Those holdings generated an estimated ₦12.7 billion in dividend income during the 2024 financial year alone.