One hundred and twenty three years old and still going strong, First Bank of Nigeria has had a remarkable year, with plenty of bests to its name.
Nigeria’s oldest and largest banking institution almost singlehandedly racked up all the top industry awards, from the Financial Times’ Bankers Magazine’s ‘Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria’, to the World Finance Global Banking Awards’‘Best Private Bank in Nigeria’.
It has also won elite Global Financial Magazine’s ‘Best Private Bank – Nigeria’ for the second year running.
This year also witnessed the launch of FirstGem and FirstBank Retail Products, a women-centric lifestyle product designed for women of all ages. It also initiated its Human Resource Solution in The Cloud, making it the first indigenous organization in Nigeria to launch such a product.
For a bank known as much for its longevity and durability, it has also managed to stay innovative and on the leading edge of Retail, Corporate, Commercial and Public Sector Banking. It is no wonder that ‘The Big Blue Elephant’ bagged International Finance Magazine’s ‘Most Innovative Bank in Nigeria’ for 2017, and the ‘Mobile Banking App of the Year’ by Beacon of ICT Awards.
With a network of about 790 branches locally and internationally, First Bank’s pedigree has allowed it to weather the worst storms of Nigeria’s economic contraction of the past year; and has been rewarded with rising deposits and net loans. And though its earnings profile dipped slightly by 22% for the first nine months of 2016, it has continued to expand its assets base (valued at over $12 billion) to such a degree that it has been named the ‘Outstanding Financial Brand of the Decade’ by Marketing Edge Awards CEO Awards.
But how do these numbers and trophies translate to the man on the street, to the normal, everyday banking customer? Two words: safety and comfort. In a time of harsh economic downturns, when many Nigerians have had to readjust their belts due to an unexpected, but thankfully receding, recession, it’s comforting to know that whatever happens to your money or your investments, they are in old, safe hands.
(Toks David)