Rating Release

Agusto & Co. affirms the “Aa-” rating and ESG score of 2 assigned to United Bank for Africa Plc, attaches a stable outlook.

The rating expires on 31 December 2024.

Agusto & Co. hereby maintains the ‘Aa-’ rating assigned to United Bank for Africa Plc (‘UBA’ or ‘the Bank’). The rating reflects UBA’s Pan-African franchise which partially moderates its exposure to Nigeria’s macroeconomic headwinds and supports its ability to harness cross-border opportunities. The rating also considers the Bank’s good capitalisation, liquidity and ability to refinance as well as its tier 1 status in the banking industry. UBA’s strong retail franchise and wealth of experience navigating turbulent cycles are also rating positives.

However, offsetting these positive factors are the exposure to power loans with cash flow constraints, obligor concentration in the loan book and rising cost profile. Also factored into the rating is the impact of the fragile macroeconomic environment on the Nigerian business. We have also assigned a ‘2’ ESG contribution score which denotes that environmental, social and governance issues have minimal impact on the Bank’s credit risk.