After 12 years as chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu has stepped down from the role, closing a leadership period that coincided with a dramatic expansion of the Nigerian financial institution.

Between 2015 and 2025, UBA grew from a relatively smaller Nigerian banking group into a much larger pan-African financial institution. Its balance sheet expanded more than 12 times, customer deposits increased by over 1,000%, and the bank significantly increased its presence across African markets.

But the decade was not defined by growth alone. The figures also reveal changes in lending, technology spending, employee numbers, credit costs and shareholder returns.

UBA’s Balance Sheet Expanded More Than 11 Times

UBA's total assets increased from approximately ₦2.75 trillion in 2015 to ₦33.17 trillion in 2025, representing growth of more than 1,100%.

The expansion reflects increased customer deposits, investments, lending activities, foreign-exchange movements and the bank's growing operations outside Nigeria.

The result is a significantly larger financial institution with a much greater capacity to deploy capital across its various markets.

Customer Deposits Became a Major Growth Driver

Customer deposits rose from roughly ₦2.08 trillion in 2015 to ₦23.95 trillion in 2025.

That represents an increase of about 1,051% over the decade.

The rapid growth in deposits gave UBA a much larger pool of funds to deploy through loans, investments and other financial activities.

However, deposits grew considerably faster than loans.

Lending Did Not Keep Pace With Deposits

UBA's loans and advances increased by about 575%, reaching ₦7.02 trillion in 2025.

Despite that substantial increase, lending represented a smaller proportion of the bank's deposit base than it did a decade earlier.

UBA's loan-to-deposit ratio declined from approximately 49.8% in 2015 to 29.3% in 2025.

This suggests that the bank's expansion was driven by more than traditional lending. Investments and other banking activities became increasingly important to its overall financial performance.

Revenue Grew Sharply, But Profit Growth Was Slower

UBA's gross earnings increased by approximately 881%, reaching ₦3.09 trillion in 2025.

Profit after tax also expanded significantly, rising to around ₦404.7 billion from its 2015 level.

However, profit growth of about 578% was considerably lower than revenue growth.

The difference highlights the cost of operating a much larger banking group, including expenses, taxes, credit provisions and other financial costs.

Credit Losses Hit 2025 Earnings

One of the biggest setbacks came in 2025 when UBA recorded approximately ₦1.02 trillion in credit-loss provisions.

The increase in impairment costs contributed to a sharp decline in earnings per share.

UBA's EPS fell from ₦21.73 in 2024 to ₦9.66 in 2025, despite the bank's much larger balance sheet.

The development also affected dividend payments, with the bank unable to declare a final dividend for 2025 after its loan-loss provisions pushed its bad-loan position above the applicable threshold.

UBA Became More Pan-African

Perhaps one of the most significant changes during the decade was UBA's geographical expansion.

In 2015, Nigeria accounted for about 71% of the group's financial assets. By 2025, that figure had dropped to 38.2%.

The rest of Africa accounted for 51.4%, making the wider African market more important to the group's financial structure than Nigeria alone.

UBA expanded from 17 subsidiaries to 21 and now operates across 20 African countries, alongside operations in major international financial centres.

This diversification gives the bank exposure to multiple economies rather than relying almost entirely on the Nigerian market.

Technology Became a Much Bigger Expense

Digital banking also became a major part of UBA's business during the period.

Electronic banking income climbed dramatically, increasing by more than 1,200% between 2015 and 2025.

But the cost of maintaining that digital infrastructure also increased.

By 2025, UBA recorded approximately ₦177.4 billion in e-banking expenses and another ₦43 billion in IT-related costs.

The figures show the growing cost of running a modern digital banking operation across multiple markets.

Technology is no longer simply a support function for the bank. It has become a core component of both its revenue model and operating structure.

A Smaller Workforce Supporting a Much Larger Bank

UBA also operated with fewer employees than it did a decade earlier.

The bank's workforce declined from 12,770 employees in 2015 to 10,821 in 2025, a reduction of roughly 15%.

At the same time, employee benefit costs increased substantially, reflecting factors including inflation, salaries, skills requirements and the changing nature of banking work.

This means UBA's workforce became smaller while the institution it supported became dramatically larger.

What Elumelu Leaves Behind

Tony Elumelu's departure comes after a period in which UBA transformed in scale and geographical reach.

The bank now has a significantly larger balance sheet, a much bigger deposit base, a broader African footprint and a deeper dependence on digital technology.

At the same time, the numbers highlight some of the challenges that accompany such expansion: credit risk, rising technology costs, slower loan growth relative to deposits and the pressure of operating across multiple markets.

The decade therefore tells a more complicated story than simply one of growth.

UBA became much bigger. The next question is whether it can convert that scale into consistently stronger returns while managing the risks that come with being one of Africa's largest banking groups.