Union Bank Nigeria Plc Thursday announced a 15 percent rise in gross earnings to N39.5 billion for the first quarter ending March 31, 2018. It was up from N34.3 billion in the comparable period of 2017.
The rise in gross earnings for Q1 was down to the improvement in net interest margins from 7.1 percent to 8.7 percent and an increase of 18 percent in non-interest income as a result of enhanced trading income and increased volumes on alternate banking channels.
Profit before tax rose by about N700 million to ₦5.4bn in reference to the ₦4.7 billion in Q1 2017. Operating expenses increased by 10 percent to N17.9 billion from N16.3 billion in the corresponding period in 2017. The increase in operating expenses was largely down to regulatory fines.
The bank recorded a 90 percent increase in the volume of digital fund transfer signposting the benefits from the bank’s technological investment.
“In 2018 we renewed our focus on driving efficiency and productivity across the entire organization. The objective is to ensure we fully leverage our resources including human, technology and new capital in order to maximize our bottom line. While we are just in the early stages of this drive, we are already starting to see positive results,” said Emeka Emuwa, CEO of Union Bank.
“For the first half of the year, we will continue to hone initiatives around our productivity drive, focusing our people on targeted opportunities across regions and optimising our technology and digital platforms to deliver operational efficiency and improved customer service,” he added.
By Oluwaseun Afolabi
