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Best Bank: United Bank of Africa |
Under the charismatic leadership of Ladi Balogun, First City Monument Bank has taken great strides to modernize the banking community of Nigeria. Balogun has also brought in a number of foreign partners who will help bring the country’s banking system up to international standards. But for now, just like Access Bank, another financial institution that has reshaped itself, the promise is in the future rather than the past. The bank that is really motoring in Nigeria is United Bank of Africa, thanks in part to input from Renaissance Capital, the Russian bank that is expanding into Africa. Already Renaissance has helped UBA raise $300 million in equity finance and landed mandates from corporates in several countries to raise equity and debt capital, as well as to help with merger transactions. UBA has finally established itself as a dominant player in the Nigerian financial services industry. It has just concluded an arrangement for acquisition of the physical assets and private sector deposit liabilities of Metropolitan Bank, which is in liquidation.