FBN: Rising profile of a mega brand
Truly, FirstBank is truly the first! it is not just the first to start banking business in Nigeria; it is also first at self-reinvention, at blazing the trail in the industry, innovation, and most importantly at putting you, the customer, first. Unarguably, it has established itself as a brand of strength and dynamism with a vision to be the leading international banking group.
From the humble beginning as the Bank of British West Africa (BBWT) to the Lagos office of the Bank of West Africa (BWA) and Standard Bank of West Africa Limited. in 1969 it was incorporated locally as the Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited in line with the Companies Decree of 1968.
Changes in the name of the Bank also occurred in 1979 and 1991 to First Bank of Nigeria Limited and First Bank of Nigeria Plc, respectively. In 2012, the Bank changed its name again to FirstBank of Nigeria Limited as part of a restructuring resulting in FBN Holdings.
FirstBank proceeded in its evolution by going international with branches in London and Paris and in Beijing with its Representative Offices there.
In October 2011, the Bank acquired a new subsidiary, Banque International de Credit (BIC), one of the leading banks in the Democratic Republic of Congo now known as FirstBank DRC. In November 2013, FirstBank acquired ICB in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Guinea, and in 2014, the Bank acquired ICB in Senegal. These were major landmarks in its plan for growing its sub-Saharan African footprints thus evolving into Nigeria’s strongest banking franchise, maintaining market leadership on all fronts in the nation’s financial services industry.
Constantly on its toes, FirstBank has engrained its leadership on the industry in the minds and consciousness of both the competition and the banking public
It transformed into a holding company in 2012 when most of the players in the industry were still battling with meeting the CBN-imposed minimum capital standard capital requirements.
Poised to launch into a leading international banking group, FirstBank has again taken a bold step in its corporate goal realization by rebranding its subsidiaries in such a way that there will be proper alignment with the parent brand and thus, enjoy the strong heritage and brand equity of the brand that is in its 129 years of banking leadership.
FBNBank UK, FBNBank Sierra Leone, FBNBank Gambia and FBNBank DRC are the first set of subsidiaries effecting the name alignment. They are now known and addressed as FirstBank UK, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank Gambia and FirstBank DRC. The Ghana, Senegal and Guinea subsidiaries will be next in the phased name change implementation.
FirstBank is surely showing the way!
FirstBank’s imprimatur on the Nigerian and global banking ecosystems has won it several recognitions. Some of the awards won by the bank include: Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2023 by Global Finance Awards; Best Corporate Bank in Western Africa 2022 by Global Banking & Finance; Best CSR Bank Africa by International Business Magazine in 2022; and ranked as number one in Nigeria in terms of Overall Performance; Profitability; Efficiency and Return on Risk by the Top 100 African Bank Rankings 2022 released by The Banker Magazine from the stables of Financial Times.
These awards include Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2023 by Global Finance Awards; Best Corporate Bank in Western Africa 2022 by Global Banking & Finance; Best CSR Bank Africa by International Business Magazine in 2022; and ranked as number one in Nigeria in terms of Overall Performance; Profitability; Efficiency and Return on Risk by the Top 100 African Bank Rankings 2022 released by The Banker Magazine from the stables of Financial Times.
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