The United Bank of Africa, a pan African financial services group with its headquarters in Lagos Nigeria, has acted as an initial mandated lead arranger with a consortium of Nigerian commercial banks in US$1.5bn pre-export finance facility for Eagle Export Funding Limited to enable the forward sale of crude by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC)
UBA is providing US$200mn in naira equivalent towards the crude oil sale to support investment growth and liquidity requirements.
“The forward sale will provide much needed capital for investment in NNPC production capacity which is of strategic importance to the Nigerian economy and the country’s leading source of foreign exchange.
UBA’s position as the Mandated Lead Arranger recognises the group’s strength in structuring and deploying financing to the oil and gas sector and the depth and liquidity of the group’s balance sheet,” the bank said.
Other participants in the Eagle Export Funding Limited deal include Standard Chartered Bank, Afrexim Bank, Union Bank and two oil trading companies, Vitol and Matrix.
Tony Elumelu, UBA group chairman, speaking on the facility said, this has been one of the most economically challenging years that Nigeria has witnessed, with the sharp drop in the price of oil and the ensuing hardship that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and so the private sector must come together and contribute meaningfully to the economy.
“This facility is clear evidence of this – UBA is providing an investment that will significantly improve Nigeria’s production capacity and in doing so also demonstrating the strength, depth, and sophistication of our commercial banking capability. I believe that together, working with governments, we can create more jobs and more wealth for people, not only in Nigeria but across Africa.”
With operations in 20 African countries and more than 20,000 employees, and operations in the UK, and US, France, providing retail, commercial and institutional banking services, the United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent.
