The appointment has received approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to a statement released by the bank.

Ebenezer Kolawole, a seasoned finance and banking professional, brings extensive experience spanning multiple institutions. He began his career at Caribbean Finance Limited, an affiliate of CFL in the Cayman Islands, before moving on to key roles in Ecobank, Standard Trust Bank, and Mainstreet Bank.

At Mainstreet Bank, he served as Group Chief Finance Officer (GCFO) before joining Unity Bank in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

In 2018, Kolawole was appointed executive director, overseeing Finance, Operations, and Information Technology. Unity Bank credits him with playing a pivotal role in its strategic transformation and cost optimization efforts, enhancing the bank’s overall performance and market visibility.

“In line with the Bank’s succession and business continuity plan, Mr. Kolawole is saddled with the responsibility to finalize the Bank’s ongoing programme and other strategic initiatives of the institution.”

Kolawole holds a First-Class Honours degree in Accounting and has completed executive management programmes at Columbia Business School, USA.

He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIB), and an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (AMNIM).

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In its audited financials submitted to the NGX Group Limited, the Bank also witnessed improvements across key performance indicators, including a significant appreciation of customer deposits by 23% to N402.9 billion from N327.4 billion within the period under review – an indication of sustained retail growth and customer confidence.

Other key highlights of the full-year results include the total assets which stood at N472.5 billion; net fee and income commission, N5.2 billion and an increase in interest income by 9.6% to 53.7 billion from N48.8 billion within the period.

Commenting on the result, Mrs. Oluwatomi Somefun, the managing director/chief executive officer of Unity Bank Plc, said the Bank had issued a profit alert to reflect revaluation loss arising from Naira devaluation which was due to the acute shortage of Forex that created an inclement business environment and, on the aggregate, set in an economic headwind.

She noted, however, that in the full-year statement, this has bottomed out and the key performance indicators are rebounding from the low level of growth and negative trends that characterized the year.

Mrs. Somefun stated: “As we begin to see the margins being closed, it is an indication that the measures being taken to revamp all aspects of the business is being well received by the market: be it workable recapitalization plan, aggressive drive for asset creation, product innovation, or digital banking”.

“We will need to covet the improvements and further build upon it. As a corporate brand, we have a lot that is keeping us going: the positive sentiments and optimism, the growing franchise of the business and steady growth in different segments of the retail market across all the geo-political zones of Nigeria” ” she said.

She added,

“We have the right indicators to reclaim lost grounds – innovating with the development and soon to be launched an omnichannel digital app to improve reliability, customer experience, support diverse products functionality which will impact earnings, income and profitability.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recently approved a business combination with another innovative Bank in Nigeria, marking a significant milestone in the Bank’s growth strategy as it advances its recapitalization plans.

This partnership is built on a shared vision to redefine the banking experience for our customers and will drive the transformation of the consolidated entity.

By leveraging Unity Bank’s extensive branch network and strong customer relationships alongside the entity’s digital expertise and commitment to innovation, we aim to create a seamless integration of traditional and modern banking services.

Amid a review of key highlights that support the steady growth of the retail business, analysts are of the view that the Bank has continued to reflect a good outlook in terms of perception and confidence in the market, which by and large creates an entity with remarkable resilience whilst investors’ sentiments remain positive.

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A review of the lender’s unaudited nine-month results released to the Nigerian Exchange Group Limited showed that the Bank continued to maintain its expansionary and customer-centric model with total loans and advances rising to N222.8 billion, even as interest and similar income stood at N33 billion, which underscores the Bank’s strategic focus to reinvigorate and sustain asset creation that will deliver returns to shareholders.

Unity Bank Grows Gross Earnings to N57Billion in 2022FY

Other key highlights of the 9-month financials include the total assets which stood at N423.4 billion; net fee and income commission, N4.4 billion within the period.

However, the recent FX regulation impacted the Bank’s bottom line, which can be reversed as the Naira appreciates.

Commenting on the result, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, the Managing Director/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, said that the Bank is focusing on its efforts to recapitalize the institution, aggressively drive asset creation, innovate with products to compete favourably in new markets and relentlessly drive the pursuit of digital Banking innovation in order to shake off and completely reverse negative positions.

She stated that despite the tough operating environment, the deposit position continues to witness steady appreciation, which supports the business as the Bank drives initiatives to ramp up transactions as part of its strategy for the short and medium term.

“This also means that the Bank enjoys market confidence, which will enable the institution to thrive better in the months ahead with increased business conversion, profitability and growth needed to achieve sustainable returns,” she said.

Added to the above, Somefun also stated that “the Bank is seeing encouraging uptake in its digital Banking services and with expansion envisaged in the pursuit of enhanced retail franchise, fintech partnership, consumer banking and other innovative retail loans as well as diversification of portfolio investment, the outlook remains one of optimism’’.

Analysts expressed confidence that re-engaging the market in the short and medium term by deepening the retail end as part of the business strategy will drive more income streams to boost both market share and financial position in the days ahead.

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