Unity Bank Plc yesterday reduced its over 2,000
workforce by sacking 215 members of staff, it was
reliably learnt.
The exercise, it was further leant, was to enable the
lender realign its operation and pursue a long term
growth strategy.
Some of the downsized staff members were said to
have opted to resign while management approved
severance package for them in line with the bank’s
policy.

The lender last May, forged a strategic alliance with
Black Trituium, equity and investment fund manager.
The bank said it in a report on its website that it was
driven by the vision to be the retail bank of choice for
all Nigerians and “this is at the core of all that we do”.
Investigation revealed that the affected members of
staff were those that achieved less than 40 per cent
of their performance target, which affected the
lender’s overall profitability in recent years.
The downsizing, which cut across all cadres including
junior, middle and top management positions,
happened at a time majority of banks are battling
with poor profitability over harsh economic
conditions and heightened business risks from the
plunge in crude oil prices.

The bank is also said to have attracted specialist skills
to its workforce since the relocation of its head office
from Abuja to Lagos, which was in line with its plan
to grow market share in viable clusters of the retail
market.
A source close to the bank said the new focus of the
business has led to significant enhancement of
human capital in its various business units.
This was with a view to injecting fresh ideas,
initiatives and energies to strengthen its various
departments with capabilities to pursue the
attainment of strategic business focus in the
Agricultural financing, retail/Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) and development of rural
economy.

It bank, it was further leant, recently hired about 200
new staff to drive the transformation initiative while
about 100 other staff were said to have been
promoted.
Commenting on this development, an industry expert
asserted that these exercises are part of the hard
choices that forward-looking organisations desiring
optimum performance had to take from time to time
to enable it deliver consistently on shareholders
expectations.
In the report on its website, the lender said it was
one of Nigeria’s leading retail banks with 240
business offices spread across the 36 states and the
Federal Capital Territory. “We are Nigeria’s seventh
largest bank by business locations,” it said.
The Nation learnt that the new investor in the bank,
Black Trituium, was committed to making significant
equity investment in the bank.
This strategic alliance will expand Unity Bank’s
business scope, strengthen its capital base and
support the bank’s retail strategy while meeting the
investment objectives of Black Trituium. The Black
Trituium manages funds for individuals and
institutions such as Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The collaboration with the bank is expected to
expand the retail and Small and Medium Enterprises
segment of the bank. Investment analysts see this as
a unique opportunity with the potential of
broadening the bank’s customer base and provide
long term stakeholders value.
Furthermore, given the current economic outlook,
this strategic alliance will come with immediate
benefits that will enhance the capacity of the bank to
meet the needs of its banking public.The alliance will
also support government’s initiatives aimed at driving
growth in the real sector through Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) and retail products, with
particular focus on the agricultural sector.
Unity Bank commenced operations in January 2006
following the merger of nine financial institutions
with competences in investment, corporate and retail
banking.