(Ecofin Agency) - In 2022, the CFA Franc zone -with Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville in the lead- drove the growth of banking UBA. Countries in the zone performed better than large markets like Ghana and Kenya.  

In 2022, the CFA Franc zone contributed 72.2% of UBA Group’s profits outside Nigeria. In that zone, countries that host UBA’s subsidiaries generated NGN52.3 billion ( $113.5 million) in consolidated profit.

Cameroon was the leading contributor with NGN40 billion in net banking income, up 12.2%. The Central African country outperformed Ghana, which ended the year with a 12.1% rise in the net banking income it generated (NGN50.3 billion). With a net profit of NGN10.5 billion, up 17.5%, UBA Cameroon was also the most profitable subsidiary, outpacing Côte d’Ivoire which held that title in 2021. 

Except for Mali, all UBA subsidiaries located in the CFA Franc zone achieved positive margins.  Overall, the banking group’s Francophone African markets (11 countries) contributed a total of NGN57.3 billion to the group's consolidated net profit, compared with only NGN13 billion for English-speaking subsidiaries (+ Mozambique), including major economies like Kenya and Ghana.

In that regard, the CFA franc zone can be considered the growth driver for UBA's net margins outside Nigeria. Ghana, where pre-tax profit was divided by a little more than four, was the most challenging. In that country, asset impairments amounted to about NGN 20 billion, and the group owns NGN14.2 billion worth of its foreign currency-denominated bonds.