Group Chairman, UBA , Mr. Tony Elumelu

Q: What does your coming to Dubai mean for Nigeria and Africa?

Basically, the relationship between the Gulf and Africa had been strong, long before now and we think there are a lot of Africans who do business in the Gulf region and  there are a lot of people in the Gulf region that want to do business with Africa, but need to find the right partners and the right financial institution to work with. So, UBA setting up in Dubai at this point in time would help to provide that payment and trade finance correspondent banking platform for our people and Africans who do business in the Gulf region and people in the Gulf region who do business with Africa. It’s been a long journey; we’ve always hoped and wished for this to happen and we are happy that today, that audacious ambition or dream has become a reality and we are happy that UBA is berthing in the Gulf and Dubai precisely. UBA as you know operates in 20 African countries with over 1,000 branches and 35 million customers and operates in the UK, France, USA as the only African bank in America. So, we are happy to be extending our services to Dubai. UBA Dubai is the first Sub-Saharan African bank to be fully authorised to operate as we have just commencing business today.

Q: Are we looking at  further expansion in the middle east?

It is beyond the Middle East but the far east as well. But in the first instance, we believe that Dubai should serve this area. We have a lot of customers who do business in the far east and we have a lot of customers in the far east. What we want to do is to be that bank that helps to support our people who do business in any and every part of the world. That is why we are called Africa’s Global bank. UBA is that bank and we are happy that Dubai is happening and sometimes soon the far east would also come on stream.

Q: There are advantages of coming to Dubai which includes the free zone; are you hoping to tap into these advantages

Yes, we hope to. But more importantly, it is a highly effective regulatory environment. UBA having operated in the US which is a tougher environment, operating also in the DIFC complements that. But more importantly, are the business opportunities that we see, not just for UBA, but for Africa.

GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, Kennedy Uzoka

Q: you tell us why we are here?

Today is a historic day for UBA. As you know, we have been in operation for about 73 years; we have a very strong franchise in our continent because our business is primarily Africa-based. However, we have to deal with the entire world and that means that we need to have strong financial support across the world. We are in the United States as the only bank out of Sub-saharan Africa that operates in that country; we are in the United Kingdom and we have a representative office in France. We believed that the equation wasn’t balanced, that was why we decided to come to Dubai Financial Centre. The whole idea is to make sure that our customers are served, regardless of where they are operating. So, whether you are a customer in Kinshasa, Dakar and you are dealing with any client across the globe that has interest in this part of the world, UBA is able to provide you with the service you require.

So, today we are now formally in four continents across the globe, operating in 24 countries across the world and serving over 33 million customers and still growing. Today also shows that UBA is also a strong franchise and we are expanding our reach across the world. We are considering other locations that would complement what we are doing. This is just the beginning. On behalf of every one in UBA and our customers that made this happen because without them we would not achieve much, we say thank to them and thank you to the authorities of UAE for granting us this authorisation to operate.

We are the only bank with Nigerian origin that has extended out of Nigeria to the UAE. All others have come through other locations and it shows the strength and respect that the authorities have for UBA. 

We are always very deliberate in executing our strategy. We have a long-term view, but we take them one step at a time. That is why you have seen consistent progress by UBA. It is not common to find enterprises with that kind of pedigree. From Nigeria, 20 African countries, to US with a unique licence, in UK, France and now here. It is difficult for financial authorities to give licence if they don’t understand what you are doing and if you don’t have high corporate governance standards. But because UBA has demonstrated this over the time, that is why we were able to get the licence straight from the parent, rather than going to a place like the proxy of the parent. This is because when they are not comfortable with the parent, they take a proxy of the parent. But UBA is unique and we are different.

Mr. Vikrant Bhansali, MD/CEO, UBA(DIFC)

We are so excited to be here. This is our first presence and our first step in the Middle East and I am sure we are going to go further. The authorities and business environment here is phenomenal and increasing we are seeing Dubai as the gateway for Africa and that is why we are here, to be closer to our clients, to be partnering with them and to facilitate businesses and trade flows into Africa, through the UBA franchise. So, we are super excited. 

Mr. Chiugo Ndubisi, Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking, UBA,

Most Nigerians here have challenge opening bank account, do you think you will be able to bridge that gap and what are the specific value customers would get from this expansion?

Our presence here gives us the opportunity to showcase the UBA brand to our various corporates that operate from the Middle East as well as other African financial institutions and global financial institutions that operate in this area. That would give us easy access to funding, which is why treasury is key for us. It also gives us the opportunity to support trade flows for some of our customers in an out of Africa. The current licence we have is category four licence and it gives us the opportunity to showcase all our financial products, arrange credit for our subsidiaries and businesses and support all the trade activities of our customers. The next step for us which would happen anytime soon, is to now take a step further to get a licence that would allow us to open up to customers and take deposits. It is one step at a time.

Arif Amiri, CEO, Dubai International Financial Centre(DIFC) Authority

Q: How do you feel to have UBA open here in Dubai?

Very pleased. It attends to the relationship between Dubai and Africa, and Nigeria specifically. This is a beautiful start, a beautiful beginning and we are looking forward to achieving more, interacting more and channeling more trade and investments and getting into the markets even closer, through these steps as well.

Q: What will you be giving to UBA and other African companies and financial services companies coming to the city?

As always, we are first class jurisdiction that has access to global markets and regional markets. We will continue to provide that through the support of the ecosystem one of its kind.

We will continue to seek partnerships that will deliver and going for a winning relationship.

Q: What will you be doing interns of regulation and supervision?

Absolutely. We are best in class when it comes to regulation and global standards in the offering of our services. We will be supporting our clients the more, out of Dubai Refreshment Company (DRC)  and the region. It is given that we will provide bets in class regulation, at global standards.