First Bank of Nigeria
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is a Nigerian multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. It is the premier bank in West Africa with its impact woven into the fabric of society. First Bank of Nigeria Limited operates as a parent company in Nigeria, with the subsidiaries 'FBNBank' in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal; FBN Bank UK Limited in the United Kingdom with a branch in Paris; First Bank Representative Office in Beijing to capture trade-related business between geographies. FirstBank also operates First Pension  Custodian Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s foremost pension custodian. The teeming customers of the First Bank Group are serviced from a network of over 700 business locations across Africa. To promote financial inclusion and reach the unbanked, FirstBank has an extensive Agent Banking network, with over 53,000 locations across Nigeria. The Bank specializes in retail banking and has the largest client base in West Africa, with over 18 million customers. For eight consecutive years (2011 - 2018) First Bank Nigeria received the Best Retail Bank in Nigeria award by "The Asian Banker". FirstBank as a Group employs over 16,000 staff, and proudly  a multiple 'Best Place to Work awardee'. It operates four key Strategic Business Units (SBUs) – Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking, and Public Sector Banking. It was previously structured as an operating holding company before the implementation of a non-operating Holding Company structure (FBN Holdings) in 2011/2012. Overview. , the Bank had assets totalling NGN5.9 trillion. The Bank's profit before tax for the twelve months ending 31 December 2019 was approximately NGN70.8billion. FirstBank is wholly owned by FBN Holdings PLC, which in itself has diversified ownership, with over 1.3 million shareholders. The bank was founded in 1894 and is  Nigeria’s oldest bank. It converted to a public company in 1970 and was listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1971. However, as part of the implementation of the non-operating holding company structure, it was delisted from the NSE and replaced with FBN Holdings Plc. in 2012. FirstBank has been named " Best Bank Brand in Nigeria" for six years in a row – 2011 to 2016 – by "The Banker" magazine of the Financial Times Group; it was awarded "Most Innovative Bank in Africa" in the EMEA Finance African Banking Awards 2014; it has clinched the “Best Bank in  Nigeria” award by Global Finance Magazine 15 times and the “Best Private Bank in Nigeria” by World Finance Magazine seven times. Some other recent awards received by the Bank are “Best Banking Brand Nigeria, 2019” by Global Brands Magazine; “Best Mobile Banking App – Nigeria, 2019” by Global Business Outlook and “Best Financial Inclusion Program – Nigeria, 2019 by International Investor. Subsidiaries. The subsidiaries of First Bank of Nigeria include the following: FBN Holdings. In 2010, the Central Bank of Nigeria revised the regulation covering the scope of banking activities for Nigerian banks. The universal banking model was discontinued and banks were  required to divest from non-core banking businesses or adopt a holding company structure. FirstBank opted to form a holding company, FBN Holdings Plc., to capture synergies across its already established banking and non-banking businesses. The new structure resulted in a stronger platform to support the group’s future growth ambitions domestically and internationally. Bello Maccido, who was executive director (retail, north) of FirstBank, became the CEO of the new parent company. He retired effective from 31 December 2015 and was succeeded by Urum Kalu Eke Mfr (former executive director, South of FirstBank) as group managing director of the  holding company. The shares of FBNHoldings are listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange. The business groups of FBNHoldings are: As at 31 December 2015, the Group closed with gross earnings of N505.2 billion, total assets of N4.2 trillion and N578.8 billion in total equity. History. Pre-independence. FirstBank commenced business in 1894 in what was then the British controlled areas, as the Bank of British West Africa. The bank originally served British shipping and trading agencies in Nigeria. The founder, Alfred Lewis Jones, was a shipping magnate who originally had a monopoly on importing silver currency into West Africa through  his Elder Dempster shipping company. According to its founder, without a bank economies were reduced to using barter and a wide variety of mediums of exchange, leading to unsound practices. A bank could provide a secure home for deposits and also a uniform medium of exchange. The bank primarily financed foreign trade, but did little lending to indigenous Nigerians, who had little to offer as collateral for loans. Post-independence. After Nigeria's independence in 1960, the Bank began to extend more credit to indigenous Nigerians. At the same time, citizens began to trust British banks since there was an  'independent' financial control mechanism and more citizens began to patronize the new Bank of West Africa. In 1965, Standard Bank acquired the Bank of West Africa and changed its acquisition's name to Standard Bank of West Africa. In 1969, Standard Bank of West Africa incorporated its Nigerian operations under the name Standard Bank of Nigeria. In 1971, Standard Bank of Nigeria listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and placed 13% of its share capital with Nigerian investors. After the end of the Nigerian civil war, Nigeria's military government sought to increase local control of the retail -banking sector. In response, now Standard Chartered Bank reduced its stake in Standard Bank Nigeria to 38%. Once it had lost majority control, Standard Chartered wished to signal that it was no longer responsible for the bank and the bank changed its name to First Bank of Nigeria Limited in 1979. By then, the bank had re-organized and had more Nigerian directors than ever. In 1991 the Bank changed its name to First Bank of Nigeria Plc following listing on The Nigerian Stock Exchange. In 2012, the Bank changed its name again to First Bank of Nigeria Limited as  part of a restructuring resulting in FBN Holdings Plc ("FBN Holdings"), having detached its commercial business from other businesses in the First Bank Group, in line with the requirements of the Central Bank of Nigeria. FirstBank had 1.3 million shareholders globally, was quoted on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), where it was one of the most capitalized companies and also had an unlisted Global Depository maga communication Receipt (GDR) programme, all of which were transferred to its Holding Company, FBN Holdings in December 2012. In 1982 FirstBank opened a branch in London, which it converted into a subsidiary, FBN Bank  (UK), in 2002. Its most recent international expansion was the opening in 2004 of a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2005 it acquired FBN (Merchant Bankers) Ltd. Paribas and MBC International Bank Ltd, a group of Nigerian investors, had founded MBC in 1982 as a merchant bank, and it became a commercial bank in 2002. In June 2009, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya was appointed group managing director/chief executive officer, replacing Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who had been appointed governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Onasanya was formerly executive director of banking operations & services. He retired on 31 December  2015 and Adesola Adeduntan took over as managing director/chief executive officer, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd and subsidiaries effective 1 January 2016, with Gbenga Shobo as deputy managing director. In April 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria fired the whole board of the First Bank of Nigeria which was in a «grave financial condition».