Through a rights issue, United Bank for Africa (UBA) successfully raised N178.3 billion, raising its capital base above the N500 billion minimum needed for Tier 1 banks with international licenses.
This is based on data that the bank made public after its rights issue concluded in September 2025. Before this new capital raise, UBA had raised N239 billion in November 2024, bringing its total capital to N355.2 billion.
When the rights issue closed on Friday, September 19, 2025, UBA revealed that it had 6,404 valid acceptances for 3,566,081,624 shares, worth N178.3 billion. Five of the legitimate applications came from traded rights totalling 10,462 shares, while 6,399 were applications for standard rights issues.
There were 568,666,066 shares worth N28.43 billion from invalid applications, making a total of 4,134,747,690 shares (valid and invalid). 6,293 submissions totalling 453,578,211 shares were fully accepted, whereas 106 applications totalling 135,274,777 shares were partially accepted.
During the acceptance period, 5 NGX transactions involving 10,462 shares valued at N523,100 were related to the traded rights. For 3,156,869,665 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, the rights issue was made available to shareholders listed on the register as of July 16, 2025, at a price of N50 per share. The rights issue’s registrar, PAC Registrars and Investor Services Limited, will reimburse excess subscription funds by January 13, 2026, and credit CSCS accounts by February 7, 2026.
In November 2024, UBA raised N239 billion, increasing its capital base to N355.2 billion. Although official confirmation is still pending, UBA has now raised more than the N500 billion capitalisation requirement for international banks set by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with this most recent N178 billion.
BrandSpur banking and finance news desk reports that as a result, UBA will be one of the first banks to comply with the new capital requirements before the 2026 deadline. UBA’s ability to compete as a Tier 1 bank, finance major projects, and broaden its global reach is improved by reaching the N500 billion capital base threshold.
Additionally, it gives investors and the larger financial markets a positive signal when evaluating the state of Nigerian banks.
