By  NKIRUKA NNOROM & WILLIAM JIMOH
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, UBN, has disclosed plans of becoming the top five most profitable financial institutions in Nigeria, following the completion of restructuring exercise embarked on by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s appointed management.

Making the disclosure in an interactive forum with stockbrokers and management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, the Chief Executive Officer, UBN, Mrs Funke Osibodu, said the bank would continue to strengthen its systems and processes towards the actualization of the set goal.

Specifically, she said the bank would leverage group synergies to transform the strategic subsidiaries, while also improving customer service delivery by adopting best practices and upgrading the infrastructures.

According to her, the bank would institute holistic risk management strategies backed by underlying infrastructure to enable prudent growth.

“We will leverage cashless and financial inclusion policies to deploy mobile banking products to the unbanked. We will also deepen awareness of the bank’s suite of e-business products to enhance the capacity of our bank to serve the existing customers via alternative channels.

“We will utilize shared services where appropriate to reduce operational cost. We will continue to reinforce operational risk management practices, as well as upgrade the IT and physical infrastructures, including branches to improve customer service delivery,” she emphasized.

She noted that the bank’s deposit base grew steadily throughout the period between 2009 and 2011, instead of depleting, saying that it was a demonstration of customers’ faith and confidence in the bank.

Osibodu further stated that over 70 per cent of the bank’s branches have started delivering improved performance/profitability, compared to about 50 per cent prior to CBN’s intervention due to aggressive marketing measures adopted by her management.

Speaking at the event, the CEO, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, advised other quoted companies not to wait until they have good news before coming forward to give information about their organisations.

“When the going is though, let the market know. It is best to let the capital market stakeholders hear first-hand from the horse’s mouth the reason behind every performance be it good, bad or exceptional,” he said.

He continued, “Since Union Bank of Nigeria Plc was listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange 41 years ago, (1971) it has been a leading force in the banking sub-sector of our market and has remained a worthy example of a strong organisation that continually does its utmost in aligning with on-going compliance with the post-listing requirements of The Nigerian Stock Exchange of which timely and accurate information dissemination is key.

“Despite the recent storm the bank had to weather, it has remained true to its “Big, Strong and Reliable” slogan.”

It is interesting to note that it is the only commercial bank among the erstwhile revitalized banks that still retains its identity. While four of the then rescued banks have since been acquired and three were bridged, Union Bank survived the storm.”

He noted that as a bonafide survivor, the Union Bank has continued to improve on its financial performance.

“As at last week, the bank reported a net profit of N13.6 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, as against a loss of N44 billion in the corresponding period of 2011. At the group level, Union Bank posted a profit after tax ,PAT, of N16.14billion, compared to a loss ofN40.30 billion posted during a corresponding period last year andt he group equity increased to N207.92 billion from negative N164.852 billion posted in 2011. This is truly commendable.”