UBA has raised N178.3bn in Rights Issue and surpassed CBN’s N500bn Tier-1 Capital Requirement.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) has successfully raised N178.3 billion through a rights issue, pushing its capital base beyond the N500 billion benchmark required for Tier-1 banks with international banking licences.
The bank confirmed the development following the conclusion of the rights offer in September 2025, marking a major step towards full compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s recapitalisation directive ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
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The latest capital raise builds on UBA’s N239 billion rights issue completed in November 2024, which had lifted the bank’s capital base to N355.2 billion. With the additional N178.3 billion, UBA has become one of the first Nigerian banks to meet the new capital requirement, strengthening its position for expansion and competitiveness in both local and international markets.
According to the bank, the rights issue recorded 6,404 valid acceptances for 3,566,081,624 shares valued at N178.3 billion. Of this number, 6,399 applications were standard rights issue submissions, while five applications were traded rights totaling 10,462 shares. Invalid applications amounted to 568,666,066 shares, valued at N28.43 billion, bringing the total applications to 4,134,747,690 shares.
UBA disclosed that 6,293 applications representing 453,578,211 shares were fully accepted, while 106 applications for 135,274,777 shares were partially accepted. Traded rights accounted for five transactions during the acceptance period, involving 10,462 shares valued at N523,100. The offer was priced at N50 per share for 3,156,869,665 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, available to shareholders listed in the register as of 16 July 2025.
PAC Registrars and Investor Services Limited, the registrar to the issue, announced that CSCS accounts will be credited by 7 February 2026, while refunds for surplus subscriptions will be completed by 13 January 2026.
Market analysts say the successful recapitalisation places UBA in a stronger position to fund large-scale projects, deepen its international operations, and reinforce its status as a Tier-1 bank. The enhanced capital base is also viewed as a positive signal to investors, reflecting the bank’s financial strength and long-term resilience.
The bank’s register of shareholders as of 30 June 2025 shows that no individual shareholder holds more than five percent of UBA’s shares, except Heirs Holdings Limited with 2,115,222,826 shares (5.15%) and UBA Nominees with 2,571,584,621 shares (6.27%). Heirs Holdings is owned by billionaire investor Tony Elumelu, who also serves as UBA’s Chairman.
Meanwhile, UBA’s nine-month unaudited financial results for 2025 showed a profit of N537.5 billion, representing a 2.33 percent increase from N525 billion recorded in the same period of 2024. Gross earnings rose by 2.96 percent to N2.5 trillion, largely driven by growth in interest income.
With the completion of the rights issue, UBA has not only exceeded the CBN’s N500 billion capital requirement but has also strengthened its capacity to drive sustainable growth, enhance shareholder value, and consolidate its leadership position in Nigeria’s banking sector and across its global network.
