Tony Elumelu’s UBA poised for full banking license in Paris

After more than eighteen months since signing a framework agreement in the French capital, Nigerian financial titan United Bank for Africa (UBA) is nearing a significant milestone. France’s Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) is reportedly on the verge of granting UBA its crucial banking license. This represents a strategic turning point for the group founded by the influential tycoon Tony Elumelu, while also vividly illustrating the active economic diplomacy flourishing between France and West Africa’s economic powerhouse.

The wait has been considerable for the Nigerian banking institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA), but the resolution appears imminent. According to multiple reliable sources, the establishment is expected to receive its full commercial banking accreditation from the ACPR, France’s financial sector watchdog, within the coming days. This regulatory green light culminates a process initiated over a year and a half ago. At that time, a pivotal memorandum of understanding was formally endorsed with much fanfare by the financial group’s chairman, Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu, and former French Finance Minister Antoine Armand, under the direct patronage of Presidents Bola Tinubu and Emmanuel Macron. However, the path from political intention to the stringent demands of European banking regulation proved to be laden with administrative requirements.

Behind the scenes of diplomatic and financial progress

The delay in securing this essential Parisian approval sparked discreet yet persistent negotiations behind the scenes. The subject notably emerged during discussions held on the sidelines of the Africa Forward summit, which convened last May in Nairobi.

During a working session of the France-Nigeria Business Council (FNBC), the slow progression of UBA’s application was explicitly raised in the presence of the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Nicolas Forissier, and René-Laurent Alciator, the director of UBA’s Paris branch.

An individual close to the discussions confided,