Union Bank Deploys Banking Software to Boost Efficiency

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Emuwa

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (UBN) has deployed the Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking Solution 12.0, a new core banking application to modernise its infrastructure, improve operating efficiency and customer service delivery.

To help improve business operations and enhance the customer experience, UBN deployed the latest version of the software as the single operating platform for its countrywide network.

As one of Nigeria’s top tier lenders with an extensive network of over 320 branches across Nigeria, the bank seeks to better its operations with the new platform to address its corporate, retail and investment banking needs, thereby positioning itself as a highly respected provider of quality banking services in Nigeria.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the bank, Mr. Yomi Akinade was quoted in a statement as saying that with the new platform, the bank would enhance and standardise its operations across the country by leveraging on the capabilities of the new technology.

“We will have a common operating platform in our extensive network of over 320 branches across Nigeria,”  he said.

Akinade disclosed UBN went live with the new platform on April 7, 2015, adding that the new technology puts lender at the top with this state of the art technology.

He said since the bank embarked on restructuring in 2010, his team has implemented well over 70 technology projects.

“There are three key areas on the over 70 technology projects, which include: improving customers’ services, securing customers and the bank’s data as well improving our productivity as an institution,” he affirmed.

The new platform is in line with the bank’s goal of becoming a highly respected provider of quality banking services within six areas of focus according to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa.

“The six major areas of commitment we are focusing on include: quality of customers experience, quality of client base, quality of talent, quality of banking platform, quality of professional standards and quality of the banks’ earnings.”

Akinade noted that during the time of the upgrade, customers and the general public may have experienced some challenges, saying that measures have been put in place to ensure continuous seamless service delivery in case of disruptions during implementation.

“As you well know, when you go live with a major massive complex project like this, there would be teething issues. So, there are challenges and customers should understand this; but is for their own long term benefit; because we would have a much more superior service offering when the system runs fully,” he added.

He said UBN was trying to bring all of its third party applications up in the earliest possible time, when over 90 percent of those applications would be working.

The bank listed some of challenges being experienced with the current system to include the maintenance of multiple servers in branches, constant need for system enhancement when a new field is required on the system. “This usually takes months to resolve,” the bank noted.

Others are income leakage since some charges and new products could not be automated or configured, customer mandate maintained on third party applications instead of the core banking application, complexity in report generation, audit trail on maintenances and issue of account replication from the retail to the corporate modules are some of the challenges with the old version.