The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Dr. Barth B. Ebong, will be conferred with the prestigious Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Excellence in Enterprise Award by West Africa International, a leading sub-regional magazine.

The conferment ceremony will hold during the sixth edition of the magazine’s annual international conference on the late African leader slated for Accra, Ghana in October.
According to the magazine, the award is in recognition of Dr. Ebong’s track record of outstanding performance in the development of enterprise, adding that his unique contribution had made a noticeable impact on the advancement of the African continent and humanity.

Since assumption of office in 2006, Dr. Ebong’s leadership qualities have seen the transformation of Union Bank into a reputable and global player in the financial services industry. For instance, in 2007, Fitch Global Ratings, a foremost international rating agency, assigned the bank National Long and Short-term Ratings of ‘A+(nga)’ and ‘F1(nga)’ respectively, as well as Issuer Default Rating (“IDR”) ‘B+ with a stable outlook.

Also, under his leadership, total assets and deposit base of the bank rose to N619.8billion and N417.4billion in the 2007 financial year from N517.6billion and N252.4billion, respectively, achieved in the corresponding period of 2006.
Gross earnings also increased from N50.7billion in 2006 to N71.1billion, while pre-tax profit and post-tax profit stood at N15.3billion and N12.13billion, respectively in 2007.

Dr. Ebong, is currently supervising the sale of the highest public offer in the capital market where the bank is seeking N301 billion to consolidate its leadership position by way of rights issue and public offer.
The Federal Government and University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, had earlier this year also conferred on Dr. Ebong, the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degree, respectively, in recognition of his contributions to the Nigerian economy in general and the banking industry in particular.