United Bank for Africa (UBA) is one of Africa’s leading banks and has been operating in the continent since 1949. Considered one of Africa’s largest banks UBA offers financial services to more than seven million customers across 750 branches in 19 African countries, as well as having a presence in New York, Paris and London.

The legal team is led by Samuel Adikamkwu, group general counsel and company secretary, has had to demonstrate its talent during a number of key deals in recent times. In 2005 UBA underwent one of the biggest mergers in the history of Nigeria’s capital markets when it combined with Standard Trust Bank. The legal team has been central to all mergers and expansion projects across Africa, covering Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania and Senegal. Amongst its most noticeable projects, the European Investment Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have agreed to a €60m lending programme to support private sector investment in Nigeria.

This signifies the European Investment Bank’s largest ever loan to UBA and will allow them to provide longer term loans than currently available to private companies in Nigeria. Through the legal team’s sound legal advice negotiation and agreement for this ran smoothly and with successful conclusion.