By Chinenye Anuforo
It is the beginning of another school term and as students return to school after the long holidays, First Bank of Nigeria Limited is in its usual style supporting schools with their educational requirements to enhance preparations for the school year. First Bank has developed an array of products and solutions targeted at enabling schools to acquire attractive educational facilities to support their business while empowering parents and guardians to seamlessly send their wards back to school.
The bank’s educational products and solutions include the FirstEdu Loan, Operational Vehicle Loan, Term Loans for constructing new sites and renovation of existing sites, Personal Loan Against Salary (PLAS) and Salary Overdraft (SODA), which enhances parents/guardians’ capacity to pay their wards’ school fees.
The FirstEdu loan is targeted at private nursery, secondary and A-Levels schools. The product offers opportunity for private schools to access flexible funding to meet urgent cash flow needs, replace old furniture and equipment, as well as refurbish dilapidated buildings and classroom blocks. With this product, school owners/proprietors can stay ahead of competition in providing educational services and support to the target population by maintaining acceptable standard infrastructure at all times. This product allows the customer access up to N10 million with no tangible collateral required apart from the domiciliation of school account with the bank. This reduces the cost of borrowing to the customer and eliminates the challenges posed by the provision of additional demanding collaterals.
The Operational Vehicle Loan is targeted at registered businesses. It allows the entrepreneur to acquire brand new vehicles for the day to day operation of the business. Institutions can take advantage of this facility to purchase school buses in the case of school proprietors and even upscale their staff welfare schemes through provision of staff buses. The product terms and conditions are competitive.
Personal Loan Against Salary (PLAS) offers customers in paid employment access to cash to meet immediate financial needs such as payment of school fees, medical treatment, holiday expenses, among others. PLAS has a flexible repayment plan spread up to 48 months for our customers’ convenience.
There is no equity contribution or collateral requirement. The Salary Overdraft Account (SODA) is also available to customers who want short tenured overdraft to meet immediate financial needs.
SODA can be dispensed as a one-off overdraft for 30 days or a revolving overdraft for 180 days with up to 50 per cent of net monthly salary. Only a salary account qualifies you to access PLAS and SODA if you work with any of First Bank’s approved list of employers.
First Bank’s educational facilities are offered without collaterals. So, as the new school term resumes, the bank has made available right products and services tailored for school owners and proprietors just as it is poised to constantly provide the platform to support the lifestyles of its teeming customers. Customers and stakeholders are enjoined to visit any First Bank branch for further information about its school solutions.