Sixteen years after leaving the bank he helped grow into one of Nigeria’s biggest financial institutions, Tony Elumelu has left United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), again. But this time, he is leaving a bank whose assets have grown by 1,106.18% over the past decade, customer deposits by 1,051.44%, and annual profit by 578.33%.
Sixteen years after leaving the bank he helped grow into one of Nigeria’s biggest financial institutions, Tony Elumelu has left United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), again. But this time, he is leaving a bank whose assets have grown by 1,106.18% over the past decade, whose customer deposits have grown by 1,051.44%, and whose annual profit has grown by 578.33%.
On August 21, Elumelu’s 12-year stint as group chairman of UBA, a tier-one Nigerian bank valued at ₦1.97 trillion ($1.46 billion), ended. In that time, UBA expanded its footprint across Africa and made technology an increasingly important part of its business, even as loans grew far more slowly than deposits and its workforce shrank.
These 10 charts show what changed at UBA between 2015 and 2025, the first and last full financial years of Elumelu’s leadership.
Chart 1 • Balance Sheet Scale
Consolidated Group Total Assets (2015–2025)
Total Expansion 12.05× +1,106% Growth Organic / Deposit-Led FX Revaluation Effect ₦ Trillions Multiplier (×) ₦10T Benchmark (’22) Selected Year
Total Assets
YoY Growth Rate +9.40% Multiple vs 2015 Baseline 12.05×
Click any bar above to inspect specific financial year milestones.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Figures represent Consolidated Group Total Assets.
UBA’s balance sheet grew more than 11 times in a decade.
The bank had ₦2.75 trillion ($2.04 billion) in total assets in 2015. By 2025, that figure had reached ₦33.17 trillion ($24.63 billion).
That growth came from a combination of deposit accumulation, lending, investment, and the expansion of UBA’s operations across Africa.
Chart 2 • Liquidity Scale
Consolidated Group Customer Deposits (2015–2025)
10-Year Expansion 11.5× +1,051% Growth Organic Mobilisation FX & Macro Inflation Effect ₦ Trillions Multiplier (×) ₦10T Benchmark (’23) Selected Year
Customer Deposits
YoY Deposit Growth +11.02% Multiplier vs ’15 Baseline 11.51×
Click any bar above to inspect specific financial year milestones.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Figures represent Consolidated Group Deposits from Customers.
Customer deposits grew by 1,051.44% over the past decade to ₦23.95 trillion ($17.78 billion) in 2025.
Deposits are the raw material of commercial banking. They provide a bank with the funds to lend, invest, and generate interest income.
UBA became a bank with a much larger pool of customer money, giving it more capital to deploy across lending, investments, and other income-generating activities.
Chart 3 • Core Business Shift
Loans grew by 575%, but deposits grew much faster. The result? A shrinking proportion of UBA’s funding base is being converted into loans.
2025 LDR 29.3% Down from 49.8% in ’15 Customer Deposits Loans & Advances Volume (₦ Trillions) Ratio (% View) Selected Year
Loan-to-Deposit Ratio
Customer Deposits ₦23.95 Trillion Loans & Advances ₦7.02 Trillion
Click any bar above to inspect specific financial year milestones.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Loans represent Group Loans and Advances to Customers.
UBA’s loans and advances to customers increased by 575% between 2015 and 2025. That is more than six times growth, but it is significantly slower than the growth in deposits and assets.
UBA accumulated deposits much faster than it expanded customer lending, meaning a smaller proportion of its rapidly growing funding base was being converted into loans than at the beginning of the period.
This shows that UBA’s growth has not been a story of lending more money and earning more interest income; rather, the bank’s balance sheet has benefited from a broader mix of banking and investment activities.
Chart 4 • Income Engine Scale
Total revenue grew by over 880% in a decade. This reflects a larger balance sheet, but also the reality of Nigeria’s high interest rates, inflation, and FX fluctuations.
Total Growth +881% 9.8× Expansion Core Operations FX & High-Rate Environment ₦ Trillions Multiplier (×) Selected Year
Gross Earnings
YoY Growth Rate -3.04% Multiplier vs ’15 Baseline 9.81×
Click any bar above to inspect specific financial year milestones.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Figures reflect Consolidated Gross Earnings / Total Revenue.
UBA’s total revenue rose by 881.48% between 2015 and 2025.
The increase shows that the bank’s much larger balance sheet translated into a much larger income-generating business.
But revenue growth also needs to be read in the context of the economic environment in which it occurred. The decade included major movements in Nigerian interest rates, inflation, and the exchange rate, all of which affected banks’ income and expenses.
Chart 5 • The Cost of Scale
A larger top line does not mean proportionally more money reaches shareholders. The gap between these bars shows the expanding cost of running a pan-African bank.
10-Year Profit Growth +578% Vs +881% Revenue Growth Gross Earnings (Revenue) Profit After Tax Volume (₦ Trillions) Margin (% View) Selected Year
Net Profit Margin
Gross Earnings ₦3.09 Trillion Profit After Tax ₦404.7 Billion
Click any bar above to inspect specific financial year milestones.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Profit represents Consolidated Profit After Tax.
UBA’s profit has increased by 578.33% in the decade ending 2025. That is a fivefold growth, compared with more than eightfold growth in revenue.
A larger top line does not automatically mean proportionally more money reaches shareholders. Costs, credit losses, taxes, and other expenses determine how much of the revenue becomes profit.
UBA remained profitable throughout the period, but the gap between revenue and profit growth shows that becoming a much larger bank also came with a much larger cost base.
Chart 6 • Shareholder Returns
Earnings Per Share (EPS) grew more than fivefold over the decade. However, the steep drop in 2025 highlights how quickly credit impairment costs can erode shareholder value.
2025 EPS ₦9.66 Down from ₦21.73 Peak Steady Growth 2024 Peak 2025 Credit Cost Hit Selected Year
Earnings Per Share
YoY Growth -55.5% Multiplier vs ’15 Baseline 5.40×
Click any bar above to inspect specific financial year milestones.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Figures reflect Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (₦).
UBA’s earnings per share attributable to owners of the parent increased from ₦1.79 in 2015 to ₦9.66 in 2025.
EPS growth over the last decade did not end at its peak. EPS stood at ₦21.73 in 2024 before falling in 2025, as profit after tax declined due to higher loan impairment costs.
So, while the long-term picture shows significant growth in shareholder earnings, the 2025 numbers also show how quickly credit costs can affect a bank’s profitability.
Market Value vs. Returns
UBA’s share price rose from about ₦4.32 at the beginning of 2015 to ₦41.65 at the end of 2025. Its dividend payout also increased from 60 kobo in 2015 to ₦3.25 in 2024—before severe regulatory adjustments interrupted the run.
Share Price (₦) Dividend Payout Year 2025 Share Price ₦41.65 Dividend Halted UBA provided roughly ₦1.02 trillion for credit losses, pushing its bad-loan ratio above the limit allowed for dividends. Credit Losses ₦1.02T Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements & Market Data (2015–2025).
UBA’s share price rose from about ₦4.32 at the beginning of 2015 to ₦41.65 at the end of 2025. Its dividend payout also increased from 60 kobo per share in 2015 to ₦3.25 in 2024.
But that run of dividend payments was interrupted in 2025. UBA did not declare a final dividend after the bank had to recognise significant losses on some loans as it adjusted to new CBN requirements on how banks classify and provide for loans. UBA provided about ₦1.02 trillion ($757.99 million) for credit losses in 2025, pushing its bad-loan ratio above the level allowed for dividend payments.
A decade of change
Nigeria’s share of the bank’s financial assets fell from 71.0% in 2015 to 38.2% in 2025, while the rest of Africa rose to 51.4% to become the majority.
Year 2025 Nigeria 38.2% Africa 51.4% World 10.4% 50% Tipping Point
Source:
UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025).
Metric:
Total Financial Assets Share (%).
UBA expanded its footprint from 17 subsidiaries to 21 over the decade and now operates across 20 African countries and four global financial centres.
UBA’s African subsidiaries have become important contributors to the group’s deposits, lending, revenue, and customer base. Expansions also give UBA exposure to multiple economies, rather than tying its growth entirely to Nigeria, where macroeconomic conditions can quickly become volatile.
The Cost of Innovation
UBA’s electronic banking income has skyrocketed over the last decade. However, the combined costs of E-Banking expenses and IT infrastructure have tracked that growth almost perfectly, eating the profits.
Year 2025 E-Income ₦225.6B E-Expense ₦177.4B IT Cost ₦43.0B In 2025, digital infrastructure costs consumed almost 98% of digital revenues. Net Margin ₦5.3B ₦0
Source:
UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). All values in Billions of Naira (₦).
Note: IT cost for 2015/2016 utilizes "Computer consumables" as proxy due to reporting shifts.
In 2015, the bank reported ₦8.32 billion ($6.18 million) in e-banking expenses. By 2025, e-banking expenses had reached ₦177.37 billion ($131.68 million), with IT support and related expenses at ₦42.96 billion ($31.89 million).
Those two categories amounted to more than ₦220.33 billion ($163.57 million) in 2025. As UBA expanded across countries and served more customers through digital channels, technology moved from being a supporting function to a major operating expense. At the same time, the explosion in electronic payments has transformed e-business from a small revenue line into a core income stream, with UBA’s e-business income growing by 1,212.71% over the period.
Chart 11 • The Talent Equation
UBA's workforce shrank by 15.26% between 2015 and 2025, but total employee benefit expenses surged as inflation and digital operations demanded higher-cost talent.
Cost / Worker +673% ₦4.5M → ₦34.8M Headcount Total Cost (₦B) Cost / Worker (₦M) Selected Year
Workforce Size
Total Benefit Expense ₦376.27 Billion Average Cost Per Employee ₦34.77 Million
Workforce stabilized at 10,821 staff. However, Group employee benefit expenses hit a staggering ₦376.27B.
Source: UBA Audited Financial Statements (2015–2025). Figures reflect Group Staff Headcount and Group Employee Benefit Expenses.
UBA had 12,770 employees in 2015 and spent ₦57.45 billion ($42.65 million) on employee benefits.
By 2025, its workforce had fallen to 10,821, but employee benefit expenses had risen to ₦123.49 billion ($91.68 million).
On a simple employee-cost-per-worker basis, annual employee benefit expense increased from about ₦4.5 million ($3,340.81) per employee to ₦11.4 million ($8,463.38) per employee.
That means UBA was spending more than twice as much per employee while employing 15.26% fewer people. The change could reflect higher salaries, inflation, a different mix of employees, higher-skilled roles, or increased benefits. But UBA’s workforce became smaller even as its balance sheet grew to more than 12 times its previous size.
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