Already present in Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, and Chad, UBA now plans to expand into the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. UBA's project to expand its banking services in Central Africa, particularly in the CEMAC region, is motivated by recent strong performance in this part of the continent. In the first half of 2024, UBA's banking subsidiaries in Central Africa (four in CEMAC and one in the DRC) contributed 10% of the group's gross revenue and 31.3% of its profits, respectively $117 million (+196%) and $65.75 million (+315%). These increases represent the best performance, over the period, of African regions where the group operates, according to the H1 2024 report published last October. This project is in line with the announcement made three years ago regarding the construction of a regional headquarters for Central Africa. Indeed, in February 2022, Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian businessman and chairman of UBA Group, presented to the Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon his intention to establish the regional headquarters of his group in Cameroon. At the time, the project was awaiting regulatory approvals. UBA's expansion in the region is expected to be facilitated by the single banking license, whose regulatory framework was amended on January 1st. This aligns with one of the key discussion points between UBA officials and the Central Bank Governor: enhancing compliance with regional regulations. However, it's worth noting that the bank will establish a presence in these new markets through branches, with the option to convert them into subsidiaries once they reach a certain size, in line with the new COBAC regulation.According to Article 6 of the regulation, 'When the total balance sheet of a branch reaches a threshold set by COBAC, the latter requires the parent institution to transform the branch into a subsidiary

 Christelle koambi