First HoldCo Plc has announced its unaudited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025, reflecting a year of deliberate strategic actions aimed at strengthening its balance sheet, improving asset quality, and positioning the business for more resilient and sustainable growth amidst successful capital raise activities.

As stated in the unaudited Group financial statement, FirstHoldCo recorded a 4.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its Gross earnings to N3.4 trillion, supported by a 36.3% y-o-y growth in net interest income of N1.9 trillion on the back of enhanced earnings yield and margins of 17.11% and 11.0%, respectively. Similarly, net fees and commissions improved by 18.7% y-o-y to N290.7 billion. These are clear indications of the strength of the revenue-generating capacity of the core business, which continues to be solid. Earnings for the year were, however, lower than the prior year, primarily due to higher impairment charges in the commercial banking segment. This is in line with a deliberate strategic decision to accelerate balance sheet clean-up and adopt more aggressive provisioning standards. Management views this as a prudent step that enhances transparency, strengthens investor confidence, and aligns fully with evolving regulatory expectations.

Additionally, increased regulatory costs affected profitability. These charges, while weighing on the results, underscore the Group’s compliance with Nigeria’s financial system stability framework and its commitment to ensuring systemic confidence. Despite these pressures, the underlying performance of the Group remains strong.

Deposit liabilities grew by 10.0% y-o-y, driven by sustained deposit mobilisation and continued investment in digital banking platforms. This growth reflects strong customer confidence and deepening engagement across key segments. The deposit mix also showed a deliberate reduction in foreign currency deposits, resulting from the repayment of expensive funding and the impact of naira appreciation. This shift supports improved funding efficiency and reduces foreign exchange risk.

Gross loans and advances declined marginally, reflecting a disciplined approach to credit growth, strengthened risk management, loan repayments, write-offs, and the translation impact of a stronger naira on foreign currency facilities. The Group intensified its commitment to ensuring a high-quality, cleaner asset base, aiming to optimise the portfolio and enhance future earnings potential.

Furthermore, performance in earnings was impacted by a decline in non-interest income, mainly due to lower fair value gains on financial instruments following the naira appreciation in 2025. However, this was partially offset by stronger foreign exchange (FX) trading income and reduced FX revaluation losses. Net fees and commission income also grew, supported by higher electronic banking fees, letters-of-credit commissions, custodian fees, and account-maintenance income, reflecting the continued success of the Group’s digital-innovation strategy.

While impairment charges increased following the end of regulatory forbearance, management has intensified recovery initiatives and reinforced credit oversight. Excluding impairment and fair value gains, pre-provision operating profit grew by 23.9% y-o-y to N973.3 billion, demonstrating robust performance of the core business.

Apart from the commercial banking impairments, performance across the rest of the Group remained resilient, supported by steady customer activity and disciplined execution.

Looking ahead, the Group will continue to prioritise disciplined execution of its strategic objectives, with an emphasis on enhancing efficiency and profitability, continuing to build on the Group’s digital and data capabilities, and sustaining a robust balance sheet to support increased value creation and returns for shareholders. Alongside this, the Group will pursue selective growth initiatives, including new revenue streams, additional business verticals, and deeper participation in targeted African markets, in line with our strategy and risk appetite.

Further details and insights are to be provided when the audited full-year results are published and during the subsequent investor and analyst earnings call.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Africa’s Global Bank, has launched a simplified instant account opening digital platform designed to make banking faster, more accessible, and truly borderless for customers across Africa and in the diaspora.

The new platform enables prospective customers to begin and complete their account opening journey fully online, eliminating the traditional barriers of paperwork and initial branch visits. With this innovation, UBA continues to strengthen its leadership in digital banking and financial inclusion across the continent.

A Seamless, Fully Digital Experience:

Through the new platform, customers can start their onboarding journey via the web by simply selecting their preferred language and country. The process is accessible on computers, tablets, and smartphones, ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience across devices.

The platform supports both Naira and Diaspora account openings, offering multi-language options that reflect UBA’s diverse customer base and pan-African footprint.

Built on Trust, Privacy, and Compliance:

In line with UBA’s commitment to global best practices, the Instant Account Opening platform is fully aligned with applicable privacy and data protection regulations, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This ensures strong data privacy, enhanced customer confidence, and a robust legal framework for international and diaspora customers.

Bridging Traditional Banking and Fintech Convenience

Unlike traditional commercial bank onboarding processes, which often require physical branch visits, paper documentation, and in-person biometric capture, UBA’s new platform allows customers to initiate and complete onboarding digitally. Customers can upload required documents, complete digital KYC, and enroll in UBA’s digital channels immediately.

At the same time, the platform matches the speed and convenience customers have come to expect from fintechs, while retaining the strength, security, and regulatory depth of a leading African bank.

How It Works:
Opening an account on the platform is simple and intuitive:

Visit aop.ubagroup.com
Click Open a Savings Account and select Get Started
Enter your BVN and complete facial verification
Confirm the OTP sent to your registered phone number
Provide and update personal details
Upload required documents and add a digital signature
Receive your account number instantly

Shamsideen Fashola, Group Head, Retail and Digital Banking, noted that with this launch, UBA reinforces its mission to leverage technology to democratize access to financial services, combining convenience, compliance, speed, and accessibility in one seamless platform.

“At UBA, we are committed to redefining the customer experience through innovation and simplicity. Our new Instant Account Opening platform reflects this commitment by removing traditional barriers and making it easy for anyone — whether on the continent or in the diaspora — to open an account in minutes. This fully digital solution underscores our belief that banking should be accessible, secure, and truly borderless,” Shamsideen said

Alero Ladipo, Group Head, Brand, Marketing, and Corporate Communication, said: “We understand that today’s customers expect speed, convenience, and compliance without compromise. With this platform, we have blended industry-leading digital onboarding with robust privacy and regulatory standards, ensuring that our retail customers enjoy a seamless account opening experience that matches global best practices.”

United Bank for Africa operates in 20 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. The bank provides retail, commercial, and institutional banking services and is a leader in financial inclusion and technology-driven banking solutions. UBA is one of the largest employers in the African financial sector, with 30,000 employees across the Group and more than 50 million customers globally