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Union Bank posts N122 billion 2011 loss

Union Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday posted a 2011 pre-tax loss of N122 billion ($750 million), compared with a profit of N36.5 billion a year … Continue reading Union Bank posts N122 billion 2011 loss


Union Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday posted a 2011 pre-tax loss of N122 billion ($750 million), compared with a profit of N36.5 billion a year ago, it said in a filing with the stock exchange, giving no reason for the loss.

Gross earnings at the lender fell 38 percent to N80.7 billion, it said, while net assets recovered to N196 billion during the period, from a loss of N115.8 billion last year.

A large chunk of the losses are likely to be due to write downs of bad debts left over from a 2008/9 banking crisis.

Shares in the lender shed 4.35 percent to N3.72 on the news, almost the maximum 5 percent swing allowed, and underperforming the broader index, which gained 0.55 percent to hit 21,690 points.

Union Bank last year sold a 60 percent stake in itself to a group of institutional investors led by African Capital Alliance private equity for $750 million to help it recapitalise.

It was one of nine lenders that the central bank bailed out to the tune of $4 billion in 2009, after it judged they were dangerously undercapitalised.