Union Bank grows PBT by 20% in H1 despite regulatory intervention

Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention in January, which led to heightened customer concerns, Union Bank of Nigeria has reported a profit before tax (PBT) of N79.8 billion and gross earnings of N333 billion during the half year ending on June 30, 2024 compared with a PBT of N66.5 billion on gross earnings of N210.5 billion posted during the corresponding period of 2023.

This represents a growth of 20 per cent in PBT and 58 per cent in gross earnings.

The bank said in a statement that “this accomplishment demonstrates the bank’s resilience and commitment to delivering results in uncertain times.”

Commenting on the results, Yetunde Oni, its chief executive officer ,said: “I am pleased that Union Bank has delivered a progressive financial performance in the first half of the year, with a significant boost in net interest income, net operating income and net trading income.

“At the beginning of the year, our top priority was to keep the momentum going with a strong focus on stability following the intervention of CBN. We also continued with the planned strategic priorities, which are centred around scaling our digital play, driving hypergrowth in target sectors, optimising our wholesale bank structure, aggressively ensuring recoveries of past-due obligations, and orchestrating a robust ecosystem play through existing and new partnerships.

“So far, we are seeing the direct impact of our strategy on our financial performance. We achieved a substantial increase in Gross Earnings by 58 per cent to ₦333 billon compared to ₦210.5 billion in H1 2023. Net Operating Income after Impairments increased by 32 per cent to ₦143.6 billion from ₦108.5 billion in H1 2023, attributed to enhanced interest income, fees, commissions and margin expansion. Similarly, we achieved PBT of ₦79.8 billion, representing 20 per cent growth compared to ₦66.5 billion in H1 2023.”