Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
August 12, 2015 – United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has been crowned Nigeria’s biggest lender to agriculture by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
UBA received the award at LCCI annual commerce and industry awards night for consistently supporting the growth of agriculture in Nigeria.
UBA, as far back as 2009, floated the largest private sector funding scheme of N50 billion to support agriculture and agro-processing industries in Nigeria. Since then, UBA have sustained its commitment to the agricultural sector by committing an average of 7% of its loan book to agricultural financing, well above the banking industry average of 4 %.
UBA was also one of the two banks selected in 2010 to administer the N200 billion agriculture fund set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) because of the bank’s commitment to agricultural financing as well as its spread across the country.
President LCC, Mr. Aderemi Bello said those selected for the award have broadly impacted on the society positively by challenging the status quo, redefining lifestyle creating wealth and vitality and giving people increased confidence to become better at what they do. Other key considerations, he said, included; compliance with set standards, regulations, level of disclosure and corporate governance.
Commenting on the award, Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Mr. Phillips Oduoza thanked the LCCI for the recognition given to the bank, assuring that UBA will continue to support the agricultural sector.
“Agriculture is key to diversifying the Nigerian economy from dependence on oil. As we have demonstrated over the years, we will continue to support and lend to the sector not only in Nigeria but across Africa” said Oduoza.
