E-Financial
UBA Clinches PEARL, New Telegraph Awards for Impressive Performance

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Pan-African financial institution, has continued to make waves and positive impact in the local and global financial industry earning more laurels and accolades.
Last weekend, UBA carted away two key industry awards emerging the Winner of the 2017 Sectoral Leadership Awards – Financial Services (Banking) organised by the PEARL Awards; as well as the Bank CEO of the Year 2017 which was organised by New Telegraph newspapers.
UBA triumphed over Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (first runner-up) and Zenith Bank Plc (second-run) to win the PEARL sectoral leadership award as a result of the bank’s outstanding operational and stock market performance in the 2016 year of assessment. The bank emerged winner based on verifiable facts and figures.
It has indeed been a fruitful year for UBA as the 2016 financial year end result showed that the bank emerged largest in both profitability and assets size in Nigeria, controlling an estimated 10% market share in deposits.
Also, its subsidiaries in the rest of Africa accounted for a notable 31% of the total earnings of the Group over the same period. Earlier in the year, the bank had successfully raised $500 million through a debut Eurobond, which was 240 per cent oversubscribed.
All these contributed to a scramble for UBA’s share, which in turn increased the bank’s share price currently standing at about N9.90, representing a rise of over 165 per cent or N6.16 per share compared to N3.74 per share recorded in 2016.
According to the organisers of the Pearl awards, it is this performance as well as other indicators that led to the bank’s selection for the coveted awards.
The PEARL Awards Nigeria, endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission is one of Nigeria’s foremost award recognition bodies, focused on rewarding corporate excellence in local institutions and promoting healthy competitiveness amongst quoted companies through growth, diversification and innovation; ultimately leading to improved performance on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
In the same vein, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, group managing director/CEO, UBA Plc, who was recognised for his various achievements since he took on the leadership role at UBA was selected as the Bank CEO of the Year 2017, by New Telegraph Newspapers.
In his remarks on the award, Uzoka, while expressing his delight at the nomination, added that it remained a humbling experience for him to be selected for the honourable award. He also stated that the award is a call for him to do even more to ensure that UBA’s customers are prioritised in the bank’s activities.
He said, “I want to express my delight with this recognition. It goes to show that the effort that myself and my team have put in throughout the year has been totally worth it. I also congratulate all my colleagues because this recognition is not just for Kennedy but for the entire staff of UBA’.
E-Financial
GTCO to Become First Nigerian Bank to List on London Stock Exchange

By 8 am on July 9, GTCO Holdings is set to commence trading on the London Stock Exchange.
As the group is set to list all its shares on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the first Nigerian banking entity to do so.
This is as the group launches a public offer of new ordinary shares to raise approximately $100 million on the London Stock Exchange.
The equity offering, which is an accelerated bookbuild and managed by Citigroup, began on July 2 and is to last until July 31.
On July 31, the group announced that it would cancel the listing of its Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Official List.
It will also cancel their admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s main market.
In place of the GDRs, the group will list all its ordinary shares directly.
aims to admit all its shares to the equity shares category for international commercial companies under a secondary listing on the FCA’s Official List.
The shares will also begin trading on the LSE’s main market for listed securities.
According to a regulatory filing on the London Stock Exchange, the net proceeds from the offering will be used to recapitalize GTBank Nigeria.
Based on the prevailing exchange rate of N1,540 to the US dollar, the targeted $100 million equates to approximately N154 billion.
This capital raise is expected to position the Group to fully meet the N500 billion minimum paid-up share capital required by regulators for banks with international licenses.
As of now, both Zenith Bank and Access Holdings have already met—and exceeded—this threshold.
E-Financial
NAICOM Issues New Licenses to SanlamAllianz Life, General Insurance

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has handed over new licenses to SanlamAllianz Life and General Insurance Nigeria Ltd at brief ceremony held in Abuja.
Olusegun Omosehin, commissioner for Insurance emphasized the Commission’s commitment to supporting the growth of insurance entities in the country, while ensuring strict compliance with regulatory requirements. He urged the companies to prioritize good corporate governance, stability, and timely claims settlement processes.
The Commissioner reiterated NAICOM’s dedication to removing unnecessary bottlenecks and improving the insurance industry’s overall performance. He expressed confidence that the merger would enhance the companies’ capabilities and contribute to the industry’s growth.
SanlamAllianz recently launched its operations in Nigeria, marking a significant step in the company’s Pan-African expansion.
The launch follows the merger of Sanlam and Allianz’s Nigerian operations, creating a new entity named SanlamAllianz Nigeria.
This joint venture aims to transform the Nigerian insurance landscape by offering enhanced customer experiences, innovative solutions, and improved financial inclusion.
E-Financial
World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE

World Bank has approved an additional $65 million loan for Nigeria to support the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, increasing the total financing for the initiative to $145 million.
The approval was granted on June 24, 2025, according to details posted on the World Bank’s website, which also indicates that the project’s status has moved to “active” following the approval.
The SPESSE project, initially launched with an $80 million loan approved in February 2020, aims to strengthen institutional capacity for managing procurement, environmental, and social standards in both the public and private sectors across Nigeria.
The World Bank described the project’s development objective as the establishment of sustainable capacity in these areas.
This latest approval is part of a broader wave of financing expected from the World Bank to Nigeria in 2025.
The bank is scheduled to approve loans totalling $1.61 billion over the coming months, supporting various development initiatives.
Among these is a $300 million loan for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ expected to be finalised by the end of July.
This project aims to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in selected local government areas in northern Nigeria.
In September, the World Bank plans to approve four additional loans: a $10.5 million facility to support technical assistance for the Central Bank of Nigeria, a $300 million Health Security Program targeting Western and Central Africa (Nigeria – Phase IV), a $500 million project for building resilient digital infrastructure (BRIDGE), and a $500 million loan under the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project aimed at promoting sustainable growth and job creation within key agricultural sectors.
Earlier in March 2025, the bank approved three financing requests amounting to $1.13 billion.
These funds are directed towards projects focused on enhancing quality education, boosting household and community resilience, and improving nutrition.
Among the approved loans were $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, and $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
In February, the Nigerian government announced expectations of new World Bank loans totalling $2.2 billion for six different projects in 2025. This follows a $1.5 billion loan disbursed in 2024 aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation efforts.
- Telecom2 days ago
AVEVA Highlights Climate Impact Gains in 2024 Sustainability Report
- General News2 days ago
AfCFTA Opens Opportunity for Logistics Sector
- Telecom2 days ago
ALTON Explains SIM-related Services Disruption Across Mobile Networks
- Telecom1 day ago
NCC Approves MTN, 9Mobile Roaming Collaboration Deal
- E-Financial1 day ago
World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE
- Telecom2 days ago
MTN Foundation, NDLEA, UNODC Unite in Abuja Against Substance Abuse
- E-Financial1 day ago
Ecobank Taps Google Cloud to Deepen Financial Inclusion
- E-Business1 day ago
CAC Launches AI-powered Business Registration Portal