Despite an increase in net banking income, United Bank for Africa had to cope with an increase in its personnel costs. A situation which seems to result from a certain restructuring of its human resources and more generally of its activities.
In a recent report, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) reported operating net income of 44.4 billion Naira ($ 116.1 million) in the first half of 2020. It is down 21.7% compared to the same period in 2020.
In a context marked by COVID-19 and a 151.6% increase in provisions for credit risks, UBA nevertheless escaped with a net banking income of 150 billion Naira (391.6 million $) up 5.6% compared to 2019.
Its operating margins were pulled down by higher personnel costs and general operating expenses. These were especially inflated by donations as a contribution to the fight against COVID-19 in the various countries where the Bank is present. With regard to staff costs, we note that the group has reduced its staff.
The number of people paid as employees rose from 13,237 to 11,200. On the other hand, salaries increased for many of those who stayed. Thus, the number of people with salaries ranging from 2.8 million to 6.8 million Naira rose to 4,169 against 1,649 at the end of the first half of 2019.
UBA has had to take measures to adapt to the new context imposed by the coronavirus. Over the period analyzed, the group acquired 362.2 billion naira ($ 950.2 million) of negotiable debt securities, mostly Nigerian government treasury bills. He also increased his debt repayment amounts. The performance of the third quarter is to be monitored.
