Who We Are

Union Bank of Nigeria (“UBN”) was established in 1917 and is one of Nigeria’s long-standing and most respected financial institutions, offering a portfolio of banking services to individuals, SMEs, commercial and corporate clients. With a robust geographical network comprising more than 284 service centres and over 934+ ATMs spread across Nigeria, we have remained committed to helping individuals, families and businesses grow for nearly a century.

We are committed to being widely recognised as Nigeria’s most reliable and trusted banking partner. Our ambition is hinged on successfully delivering against six strategic pillars including quality of our customer experience, client base, talent, banking platform, professional standards and earnings. Aggressive execution of our strategy is underway, leveraging a robust transformation team largely focused on people, processes and technology.

Union Bank of Nigeria’s rich history can be traced to 1917 when it was first established as Colonial Bank.

In 1925 the bank became known as Barclays Bank DCO (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) resulting from its acquisition by Barclays Bank. Following Nigeria’s independence and the enactment of the Companies Act of 1968, the bank was incorporated as Barclays Bank of Nigeria Limited (BBNL, est. 1969).

Between 1971 and 1979, the bank went through a series of changes including its listing on the NSE and share acquisitions/transfers driven by the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Acts (1972 and 1977); this resulted in its evolution into a new wholly Nigerian-owned entity. To reflect the new ownership structure, and in compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990, it assumed the name Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. (UBN “the Bank” or “Union Bank”).

In 1993, in line with its privatisation/commercialisation drive, the Federal Government divested by selling its controlling shares (51.67%) to private investors. Thus, Union Bank became fully owned by Nigerian citizens and organizations all within the private sector. During the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) banking sector consolidation policy, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc acquired the former Universal Trust Bank Plc and Broad Bank Ltd. and absorbed its one-time subsidiary, Union Merchant Bank Ltd.

In compliance with CBN’s Regulation 3, UBN is divesting of all non-core banking subsidiaries, which aligns with our core banking business model. Union Bank, United Kingdom (UBUK) will remain the only subsidiary of the bank.

Following the banking crisis in 2009 and the intervention of the CBN via Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), the bank was recapitalized in 2012 with an injection of $500 million by Union Global Partners Limited (UGPL), a consortium of local and international investors. UGPL acquired 65% of the bank’s shareholding and in the last quarter of 2014, AMCON’s remaining 20% stake in the bank was acquired by Atlas Mara. UGPL comprises:

•  Africa Capital Alliance
• ADC African Development Corporation
• Corsair Capital
• FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company)
• Chandler Corporation
• Standard Chartered Private Equity

Union Bank of Nigeria (“UBN”) was established in 1917 and is one of Nigeria’s long-standing and most respected financial institutions, offering a portfolio of banking services to individuals, SMEs, commercial and corporate clients.

With a robust geographical network comprising more than 300 service centres and over 950+ ATMs spread across Nigeria, we have remained committed to helping individuals, families and businesses grow for nearly a century.

We are committed to being widely recognised as Nigeria’s most reliable and trusted banking partner. Our ambition is hinged on successfully delivering against six strategic pillars including quality of our customer experience, client base, talent, banking platform, professional standards and earnings. Aggressive execution of our strategy is underway, leveraging a robust transformation team largely focused on people, processes and technology.

Our recent awards and recognitions include Business Day Award for “best bank to support Nigeria’s small and medium scale enterprises”, Central Bank of Nigeria Award as the best bank in Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund in Nigeria, MasterCard cashless champion awards: Cashless POS Activation Champion and first Nigerian bank awarded the latest Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Version 3.0 certification. With our unrelenting commitment to our transformation, we are repositioning Union Bank as a strong player in the Nigerian banking sector – A Simpler, Smarter Bank.

What We Do: We are passionate about high quality service delivery, leveraging strategic partnerships with our clients to help them succeed.

Our customer-centric business model encompasses retail bank, commercial bank, corporate bank and treasury servicing individuals, SMEs, commercial and corporate clients. This reflects our key goal to serve our customers’ distinct needs.

Our retail bank is building a recognized brand and benchmark for high customer satisfaction. We are focused on the larger mass market considering Nigeria’ demographics, while creating niche opportunities for affluent, high net worth individuals and SMEs. Our product portfolio includes deposit accounts (current, savings, term, FCY), loans (personal Loans, mortgages, auto Loans, overdrafts), bill payments, debit cards, virtual banking solutions and complementary white label solutions.