Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has once again reaffirmed its leadership as one of the continent’s most innovative and resilient financial institutions after emerging African Bank of the Year 2025 at The Banker awards.
This marks the third time in five years that UBA has won the coveted continental title, underlining its sustained growth, innovation drive, and Pan-African dominance.
In addition to the continental honour, UBA also won Best Bank of the Year awards in nine African countries, bringing its total haul for 2025 to ten awards. The winning subsidiaries include UBA Benin, UBA Chad, UBA Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), UBA Liberia, UBA Mali, UBA Mozambique, UBA Senegal, UBA Sierra Leone, and UBA Zambia.
The awards, organised annually by The Banker, a leading global finance publication owned by the Financial Times of London, were presented at a grand ceremony held at The Peninsula, London, on Wednesday.
The awards were received on behalf of the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, by Deji Adeyelure, Chief Executive Officer, UBA UK, alongside the bank’s Head of Business Development, Mark Ifashe, and Head of Financial Institutions, Shilpam Jha.
The Banker described UBA’s performance as exceptional, noting that the bank continues to outperform larger continental rivals.
“For the third time in five years, UBA Group has won the coveted Bank of the Year award for Africa. The bank this year also takes home nine separate country awards, equivalent to around a quarter of the awards for the continent, and more than any of its continent-wide rivals,” the publication stated.
It added that UBA’s wins cut across a wide geographic spread including ECOWAS, CEMAC and SADC regions, highlighting particularly strong performances in Benin and Mozambique, two highly competitive banking markets.
The Banker also spotlighted UBA’s strong financial results and growth outlook. In 2024, the Group posted a 46.8 per cent increase in assets and a 6.1 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in local currency terms. In H1 2025, West Africa, UBA’s core market, recorded an 87 per cent surge in operating revenue and an 89 per cent increase in profit.
The bank’s digital leadership was also recognised. During the period under review, UBA launched its *Advance Top-Up buy-now-pay-later feature on the 919# USSD platform, widening access to financial services. Its chatbot, Leo, recorded a 29 per cent year-on-year increase in transaction volumes in H1 2025. Notably, Leo became the first African banking chatbot to enable cross-border payments via the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in August.
Reacting to the achievement, UBA Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, said the recognition reflects the bank’s strategic discipline and customer-focused approach.
“This honour reflects the strength of our Pan-African network, the trust of our customers, and the dedication of our people. Winning Africa’s Bank of the Year for the third time in five years is a testament to disciplined execution, innovation, and a deep understanding of the markets we serve,” Alawuba said.
“Our nine country awards across diverse regions of Africa show that UBA is not just growing, but growing with impact. We remain committed to driving financial inclusion, supporting economic development, and deploying technology that makes banking simpler, faster, and more accessible to Africans everywhere,” he added.
UBA is one of Africa’s largest employers in the financial sector, with over 25,000 employees globally and serving more than 45 million customers. The bank operates in 20 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, United States, France and the United Arab Emirates, providing retail, commercial and institutional banking services while driving financial inclusion through cutting-edge digital solutions.
