The customer deposits of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc rose to N1.131 trillion from N886.3 billion, representing a growth of 27.1 percent, according to its 2020 Audited report.
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The bank’s digital adoption also appreciated by 38 percent year on year, with UnionMobile channel with total active users now at 2.9 million.
These figures are contained in the Union bank’s financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2020.
The bank’s results for the period show sustained growth in key income lines and significantly improved fundamentals, notwithstanding a constrained operating environment largely due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Union Bank’s investments in technology and building a progressive work culture over the past eight years enabled a swift response to the pandemic that allowed our workforce to transition to remote working while maintaining the productivity required to deliver this strong set of results in 2020.
Speaking on the results, Emeka Emuwa, CEO 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.
This demonstrates the strong foundations we have built, as we continue to deliver against our target of becoming a leading financial institution in Nigeria.
“For the full year, we grew across key income lines. Net income after impairments grew 8.3 percent from N95.5bn to N103.4bn and translated into 2.8 percent growth in Profit Before Tax to N25.4bn from N24.7bn.
The core of this performance is driven by the growth in our loan book, with 23.8 percent increase in gross loans, to N736.7bn from N595.3bn in 2019.
“The pandemic accelerated trends in customer behaviour and we have seen rapid increase in digital adoption with a 38 percent YOY increase in active users on our UnionMobile channel with total active users now at 2.9 million.
Our UnionOne and Union360 platforms for businesses grew by 11 percent from 25,000 users to 27,700 users. 94 percent of transactions in the Bank are now done digitally, up from 89 percent in 2019.
“We also aggressively grew UnionDirect (our agent network) by 6 times from 3,100 to 18,100 in line with our focus on our retail business.
With our investments yielding positive results, we are well-positioned as a strong leader in the retail and digital space.”
