United Bank for Africa Plc, Nigeria‘s biggest lender by number of branches, may raise funds through debt before the end of September 2008 for expansion.

“We will raise more before the end of the next fiscal year, ‘‘Mr. Sonnie Ayere, Chief Executive Officer of UBA Global Markets, the bank‘s investment unit, said in an interview in Johannesburg on Friday. He declined to say how much the Lagos- based lender plans to raise. UBA, which has over five million customers, plans to more than double its branches to 1,500 over the next 20 months, Ayere said. The bank also aims to increase the number of automatic teller machines to 1,500 by 2008, Bloomberg News reported.

Lenders in Nigeria, Africa‘s biggest oil producer, have benefited from a central bank-led overhaul of the industry, which improved confidence by weeding out weaker banks. UBA raised $300m through a share sale in March.“There is no bank in Nigeria looking to raise less than N100bn, ‘‘Ayere said.

UBA has an office in New York and plans to set up centers in countries including the United Kingdom, India and China, according to a presentation by the bank.

UBA‘s shares have more than doubled this year in Lagos trading and closed at N53.71 on Friday.