Date: Friday 30^th December 2022

Venue: Bintumani Hotel, Freetown

Madam Chair, our valued customers, representatives from our regulatory bodies here present from:

• The Bank of Sierra Leone
• Financial Intelligence Unit
• Office of the Accountant General
• National Revenue Authority
• The Anti-Corruption Commission

The Nigerian High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, His Excellency Henry John Omaku and his entourage,

The Board Chairman of UBA Sierra Leone – Dr. Claudius Bert-Williams and his lovely wife here present,

All members Board of Directors of UBA Sierra Leone,

The former UBA Board Chairman, Mr. Abdul Sheku Karabo as well as another former board member, Mr Kofi Macauley here present.

The Executive Management Committee of the bank, our Service providers, esteem members of the press, members of staff and all other invited guests good evening and welcome to the UBA Sierra Leone 1^st CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE BANQUET.

We call this event a Banquet because banquets are often held in honour of a special occasion or to celebrate a significant achievement.

Specifically, we invited you here this evening to celebrate you as our valued employers. At UBA, we regard our customers as Our Employers, the reason why we are in business. We are here to appreciate you and share with you some of the significant achievements the bank has recorded over the years through your patronage as we are ending the year 2022 and looking forward to starting an amazing new journey in 2023 and to reinforce our commitment to excellent customer experience in UBA.

As a bank, we have defined Excellent Customer Experience as a key element of our overall strategic intent in the delivery of the business objectives of the bank in line with the CX vision.  “To provide our customers with the best banking experience across all our touchpoints and to make every experience a memorable one.”

In the words of the UBA Group Chief Customer Experience Officer, Michelle Nwoga “We are building a customer obsessed culture, with integrated organizational design that influences every customer touchpoint. Transforming to get closer to our customers…”

Our customer experience mandate in UBA is to go the extra mile to delight our customers at every interaction.

We are gathered here this evening for this purpose. I am very delighted as this is the first customer banquet the bank is organising since its inspection. Even though as a bank we have other customer engagements initiatives such as: Annual Customer Service Week celebration where we celebrate and delight our customers for a whole week, Welcome Call to some new customers that open account with the bank by top executives, Special Occasion call to customers during their birthdays and wedding anniversaries among others.

However, this Banquet event is a symbolic one as we are using it to uniquely recognize and celebrate our customers to mark the end of the 2022 Financial Year which has been characterised by remarkable achievements across various Key Performance Indicators by the bank as a result of the good patronage we enjoyed from you. And indeed, we hope to sustain this event in the years ahead.

I am particularly delighted for today’s event as we come together to celebrate our achievements, strengthen our relationships and build new connections within the industry. In this regard, it is now my honour to share with you some of the key highlights of the bank’s achievements which is largely attributable to you, our customers:

• Beginning with the 2021 Financial Year, the bank recorded sterling performance in its Audited Financial Statement with significant improvements across most parameters amidst the challenging year on a reassuring note despite the tumultuous impact of Covid-19 pandemic globally.
• UBA closed the year 2021 with a balance sheet size of N92 billiona growth of NLe607.9 million representing a 46% increase compared to NLe1.32 billion in 2020. This growth was largely driven by growth in deposits from customers despite the challenging market situation.
• The bank recorded growth of 65% in customer deposits to close at N3 billionat the end of the 2021 financial year compared to NLe 787.4 million in 2020 by leveraging on its digital prowess to provide 24/7 service to its customers via electronic channels to defy the Covid 19 constraints.
• We ended the 2021 Financial Year as the most profitable bank in the banking industry and for this we say a BIG thank you.
• Moving forward to year 2022, we have achieved the following significant milestones in our drive to attaining industry leadership among others:

1. Based on our half year audited financials we were able to increase our deposit base from the NLe 1.30 billion in 2021 to NLe 1.62 billion and as at November 2022 it has reached99billion an increase of NLe 690million representing an impressive growth of 53%.
2. Our Net Loans increased from Nle160m in December 2021 to NLe 184 million as at June 2022 and to NLe 230 million as at November, a growth of 44% with an impressive Non-Performing Loan ratio of less than 1%
3. Our Balance Sheet size (Total Assets) increased to NLe 2.3 billion as at June and increased further to NLe 2.95 billion, as at November 2022 representing a year to date increase of 54%.
4. We continue to remain number one in profitability with wider margin.
5. We significantly increased our customer base to over 400,000 by opening 190,683 accounts this year alone as we aggressively drive financial inclusion in the country in line with Bank of Sierra Leone strategic direction.
6. We increased our branch network from 7 to 10 with 2 additional Cash Centres.
7. Launched 7 retail liability products into the market to improve financial inclusion in the country
8. Improved UBA brand equity and top of mind awareness through various Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, Sponsorship and Public Relations as evidenced by the avalanche of awards received by the bank and several of its Executive Management staff during the year 2022:

Awards we achieved in 2022 (See the Awards Corner Table)

• The Banker’s Bank of the Year 2022 from the Financial Times of United Kingdom. This year marks the fourth time the bank has won this prestigious award in the banking industry in Sierra Leone back to back.
• National Climate Change Partnership Award from Shout Climate Change Africa in conjunction with Ministry of Environment and award/recognition of the MD/CEO as Climate Change Ambassador
• National Development Award for Exceptional Bank of the Year in Digital Services and Financial Inclusion in the banking sector
• The Priority Health Foundation and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation Awarded the Bank for Outstanding Banking Services and dedication to the development of the Country
• Business Excellence award to the bank for outstanding commitment to corporate excellence in the private sector and socio economic growth and human capital development in Sierra Leone at the 6^th Annual Sierra Leone Leadership & Business Excellence Awards
• Sierra Ovation Award for excellent financial services, outstanding commitment and contribution to the socioeconomic development of Sierra Leone
• Country Head of Marketing & Corporate Communication Awarded as Best Marketing Manager of the Year from Diaspora Focus in conjunction with Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs
• Country Chief Finance Officer, Treasurer and Head MCC received Top 100 Professional in Sierra Leone Award
• Country Heads of HCM, Retail Banking and CFO received Top 100 Women in Corporate Sierra Leone Awards
• The Bank and the Country Head of Compliance received Priority Health Foundation Awards for Excellence
• Country Chief Operating Officer & ED, Business Development received 100 Most Outstanding Professional in Sierra Leone Award
• The MD/CEO received Springs of Joy Visionary Leadership Award for his contribution towards human capital and economic development in Sierra Leone
• And to top it up, the MD/CEO receive the Best CEO in Sierra Leone Award at the 6^th Annual Sierra Leone Leadership & Business Excellence Awards

The end

Let me use this medium to thank our esteemed customers once again for their continuous patronage, business referrals and positive words of mouth on the bank’s products and services   that are contributing significantly to various awards and sterling financial performance of the bank. On this note too, I want to thank the Board for their guidance and unceasing support that is a source of encouragement to executive management and all staff members in our journey towards making UBA Sierra Leone the undisputed leading and dominant financial service institution in the country.

God bless you all.