By Oki Samson

The new management of First Bank of Nigeria Limited under the leadership of the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Segun Alebiosu today paid a courtesy visit to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Trek Africa Newspaper can report.

The visit is to assert the unfettered support of Nigeria’s oldest bank for safety and security of bank branches and the society at large. Among the guests to the IGP is the Board Member of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Ayo Ogunsan who is also an accomplished business consultant and Chairman/CEO of Executive Group.

During the visit, the new MD of First Bank, Mr. Segun Alebiosu expressed the readiness of the Bank to pay attention to the needs of the Nigeria Police Force to be able to effectively discharge their duties of ensuring internal security. The MD assured that the company will bring its corporate strength into ensuring that the Police is effective at promoting law and order. Alebiosu also noted that the Bank will support various governmental initiatives like the LSSTF which gives support to security agencies including the Nigeria Police.

The IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, alongside the Police management team, was excited to receive the First Bank’s leadership. He assured that the Force is resilient to promote security in the country.

First Bank which is Nigeria’s oldest company on record that is still in business, and West Africa’s premier bank turned 130 years has over the decades placed high premium of the security of its assets including physical branches and personnel, data safety of its customers, and the society as a whole.

Trek Africa Newspaper can reiterate that First Bank of Nigeria Limited “FirstBank”, established in 1894, is the premier bank in West Africa, one of the leading financial inclusion service providers in Africa, and a digital banking giant.

FirstBank’s international footprints cut across three continents- Africa, Europe and Asia, with FirstBank UK Limited in London and Paris; FirstBank in The Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; FBNBank in Ghana and Senegal; and a FirstBank Representative Office in Beijing, China. All the subsidiary banks are fully registered by their respective Central Banks to provide full banking services.

Besides providing domestic banking services, the subsidiaries also engage in international cross-border transactions with FirstBank’s Non-Nigerian Subsidiaries and the representative offices in Paris and China facilitate trade flows from Asia and Europe into Nigeria and other African countries.

For 130 years, FirstBank has built an outstanding reputation for solid relationships, good corporate governance, and a strong liquidity position, and has been at the forefront of promoting digital payment in the country with over 13 million cards issued to customers (the first bank to achieve such a milestone in Nigeria). FirstBank has continued to make significant investments in technology, innovation and transformation, and its cashless transaction drive has been steadily accentuated with almost 23 million active FirstBank customers signed up on digital channels including the USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code.

With over 42 million customer accounts (including digital wallets) spread across Nigeria, UK and sub-Saharan Africa, the Bank provides a comprehensive range of retail and wholesale financial services through more than 800 business offices and over 233,500 agent locations spread across 772 out of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria. In addition to banking solutions and services, FirstBank provides pension fund custody services in Nigeria through First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited and nominee and associated services through First Nominees Nigeria Limited.

FirstBank’s commitment to Diversity is shown in its policies, partnerships and initiatives such as its employees’ ratio of female to male (about 39%:61%; and 32% women in management) as well as the FirstBank Women Network, an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and increase the participation of women at all levels within the organisation. In addition, the Bank’s membership of the UN Women is an affirmation of a deliberate policy that is consistent with UN Women’s Women Empowerment’s Principles (WEPs) – Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Nondiscrimination.

For six consecutive years (2011 – 2016), FirstBank was named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” by the globally renowned The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group and “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” eight times in a row, 2011 – 2018, by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards.

Notably, in 2022, the Bank took a long stride on its growth trajectory with the Bank’s Viability and Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings upgraded to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘ (with Outlooks Stable) by Fitch, a leading global rating agency. This is an indication of the Bank’s strong internal capital generation and corresponding recession of its risks to capitalisation. Fitch also upgraded the Bank’s National Long-Term Ratings to ‘A (nga)’ from ‘BBB (nga)’, to reflect its improved creditworthiness relative to that of other issuers in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Top 100 African Bank rankings 2022 released by The Banker Magazine revealed FirstBank’s ranking as number one in Nigeria in terms of Overall Performance, Profitability, Efficiency and Return on Risk.

Other laudable feats in 2022 include FirstBank’s international recognitions on major indices by Euromoney Market Leaders, an independent global assessment of the leading financial service providers where FirstBank was crowned:
Market Leader: (tier-1 recognition) in Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR),
Market Leader: (tier -1 recognition) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG),
Highly Regarded: in Corporate Banking and Digital Solutions,
Notable: in SME Banking.

Also, in 2022 International Finance Magazine named the Bank “Most Innovative Banking Product in Nigeria” and “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria”. FirstBank was also awarded “Best Corporate Banking Western Africa, 2022” and “Best CSR Bank Western Africa, 2022’’ by Global Banking and Finance Magazine. Other notable awards in FirstBank coffers include: “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance magazine – fifteen times in a row; “Best Private Bank in Nigeria-2021” awarded by Global Finance magazine; “Best Internet Banking Nigeria” and ‘’Best CSR Bank Africa’’ by International Business Magazine.
In 2023, FirstBank has received notable awards including “Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2023” by Global Finance Awards; “Best Sustainable Bank in Nigeria 2023” by International Investors Awards; “Best Bespoke Banking Services in Nigeria 2023” by International Investors Awards; “Best Financial Inclusion Service Provider in Nigeria 2023” by Digital Banker Africa; and “African Bank of the Year” by African Leadership Magazine; ’’Best Corporate Bank in Nigeria 2023’’ by Euromoney Awards and ‘’Most Innovative Banking Brand – Nigeria 2023’’ by Global Brands Award.
Other laudable feats in 2023 include FirstBank’s international recognitions on major indices by Euromoney Market Leaders, an independent global assessment of the leading financial service providers where FirstBank was crowned:
Market Leader: (tier-1 recognition) in Corporate Banking,
Market Leader: (tier -1 recognition) in Digital Solutions,
Highly Regarded: Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR),
Highly Regarded: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG),
Notable: in SME Banking.

Significantly, FirstBank’s Global Credit Rating was A+ with a positive outlook while ratings by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s were A (nga) and ngBBB+ respectively both with Stable outlooks as at September 2023. FirstBank maintained the same level of international credit ratings with the sovereign; a milestone that was achieved in 2022 for the first time since 2015.

The Bank has the vision ‘To be Africa’s Bank of first choice’ and our mission is ‘To remain true to our name by providing the best financial services possible. This commitment is anchored on our core values of EPIC – Entrepreneurship, Professionalism, Innovation and Customer-Centricity. Our strategic ambition is ‘To deliver accelerated growth in profitability through customer-led innovation and disciplined execution and our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence to position You First in every respect.