Nigeria’s second oldest bank, Union Bank of Nigeria has reported a pre-tax profit of N71.8 billion in the 2023 full year, marking a 138 percent growth from the N30.2 billion posted in FY 2022.
The bank generated gross earnings of N393.6 billion during the period, marking an 89 percent growth from the N208 billion posted in FY 2022.
During the full year, the bank generated a net interest income of N90.4 billion, marking a 53 percent improvement from the N59.1 billion generated in 2022.
However, there was a jump in net impairment charges, from N4.5 billion as of FY 2022 to N58.5 billion as of FY 2023, thus leading to a 42 percent decline in the bank’s net interest income after impairment losses.
According to the financial statements, the group posted a net FX revaluation loss of N226 billion, which could exempt it from the 70 percent windfall tax on realized net FX gains.
Despite the net FX loss, the bank recorded an N118.3 billion net trading income during the year, a 402% increase from the N23.6 billion trading gain recorded in FY 2022.
Union Bank also recorded a net income of N215.9 billion from its financial instruments, marking a 3242 percent increase from the N6.46 billion recorded in 2022.
Over the past few years, the ownership of Union Bank has been mired in controversy, with Titan Trust Bank at the centre of the drama.
After announcing a 100 percent takeover of the bank, effectively leading to the delisting of the bank from the NGX in 2022, the CBN called into question the legality of the deal.
In December 2023, the report from the special investigation into the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria under Godwin Emefiele indicted the acquisition process of Union Bank by Titan Trust Bank.
Titan Trust Bank refuted the narrative by the Obazee investigation, however, in January 2024, the board of Union Bank put into limbo the takeover of the bank.
However, since Union Bank is no longer a quoted company on the NGX, there has been little insight into the bank’s corporate actions since 2022.
With a paid-up share capital of N148.1 billion, the bank needs to increase its capital base by at least N51.9 billion to meet the N200 billion minimum capital requirements for a national banking license.
