How do you describe an institution that has successfully raised people to greater heights in different walks of life, while it has continued to dominate it’s industry for 125 years, and still counting?
A institution like a proud father that has produced Central Bank governor, traditional rulers, Directors of different banking institutions, top government appointees and captains of industries etc.
This is the story of FirstBank; Nigeria’s pioneer bank that has continued to dominate the banking sector for over a century and quarter.
Without doubt, this Bank was there when most of the infrastructures that became historical landmarks were built. It has continued to provide services through safe keeping of customers deposits, providing loans for businesses, and securing investments.
No bank has earned the trust of customers like FirstBank. Evidently, it is the bank with the largest number of shareholders with 1.3million owners, with an Asset Base of N5.3 trillion; thereby putting its teeming customers investments at a comfortable position.
Supporting trade, agriculture and services from it’s early years, the groundnut pyramids and cash crops era of the 1930s, the construction of the Niger Bridge, the railway lines and the even the set up of the first power line and other critical infrastructures, FirstBank financed it all. Till date, the Bank has been supporting Large, Medium and Small scale businesses in different sectors of the economy.
For a bank that has existed for 125 years, even before the Amalgamation of the North and South protectorates of 1914; one thing that would be of interest to economists and banking experts is the continuous dominance of FirstBank, irrespective of the era, whether in the manual or the digital age.
One statement that clearly explains this dominance of the Bank is it’s ability to re-invent or re-engineer itself.
According to FirstBank’s Chairman, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, she said you have to be on the inside of the Bank to understand the kind of great institution it is.
“Think of an institution that has gone through different future and different environment, an institution that has continued to re-engineer itself effectively for each future it encounters, and successfully do it.”
In his words, the CEO of the Bank, Mr. Adesola Adeduntan also explained the reason for the dominance of the bank.
He said “For FirstBank, one thing that stands us out clearly is that, for an institution that is 125 years old, we have remained relevant. Encoded within the DNA of this institution is our capacity and ability to re-invent ourself.
“This Bank is strategically positioned to remain the dominant financial institution not just in Nigeria but in the West and Central parts of Africa where we have decided to play for now.”
The dominance of FirstBank is not just a child’s play. The Bank has the largest customer base of over 16million; that is over a quarter of the entire banking population.
It also prides itself as the Bank with the largest Mobile Banking customers, while it’s Debit cards is put at 10million.
It is worthy to note that, its’s Agent Banking platform (FirstMonie Agents) is the highest with 82,000 agents.
To say that FirstBank is the first to introduce the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in the country, as well as Western Union money transfer is a known fact. What will amaze you is the continuous evolution of this great financial institution. It has keyed into the future of banking with PRIMUS; a technology driven device that makes it harness the power to prepare for the future. Indeed, the bank has continued to evolve.
However, with the success it has recorded as a financial institution, it has also proved to be a Bank with human kindness with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) status.
Folake Ani-Mumuney -the Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, FirstBank admits that the Bank also leads the pack when it comes to giving back to the society through it’s CSR initiative called SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness), which assists the less privileged, and also providing necessary assistance in terms of health, education and welfare.
According to Mumuney, “we are very proud of what we’ve achieved, we have ensured that we have touched the nation in so many different ways around Health, Education, Welfare; there is almost no sector or no area that you wouldn’t see where we’ve delivered or created value.”
Indeed, FirstBank is woven into the fabric of society, that is why it has continued to add milestones upon milestones to a threshold that has no peak in sight, even after 125 years of existence.
