The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FirstBank

  • FirstBank, Skye, Union, Mainstreet lose N4b to Consolidated Discount

    Woes of investors in troubled Consolidated Discount Limited (CDL) keep multiplying by the day. FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Skye Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Mainstreet Bank Limited and CDL Cooperative will have to write off N4 billion they invested in CDL. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is probing CDL over liquidity challenges faced by the discount house.

    Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited said in report obtained by The Nation that although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed commitment to refund “private” funds trapped with CDL, commercial banks that had funds with the discount house might have to write it off.

    The report titled ‘Nigerian Banking League – The Fate of Small Players’ said recent developments in the financial system, prompted the CBN to audit the leading discount houses, resulting to the withdrawal of Express Discount House’s and CDL’s operating licenses.

    According to the report, the CDL case should constitute another potential drain on affected banks’ 2013 earnings. It said that CDL is owned by a consortium of four Nigerian Banks (First Bank, Mainstreet, Union Bank and Skye Bank) and CDL Cooperative, with an authorised Share Capital of N4 billion fully paid by its shareholders. It said the affected banks will need to reduce its assets by the proportion of the carry amount in their books. According to the report, the constant liquidity tightening rhetoric as reflected in the CBN’s policy stance has had a significant impact across Nigerian big and small banks.

    “The hawkish policy designed in 2013, targeted at price and exchange rate stability, have consistently squeezed the earnings of the banks, particularly, the 50 per cent Cash Reserve Ratio, which effectively removed approximately N1 trillion from the financial system,” it said adding that various banks have had to adjust to accommodate this development, with significant impact on cost (cost of funds and cost to income ratio) as well as the profit margin.

    The Nation had earlier reported that about N60 billion pension fund is allegedly trapped in the ailing CDL.

    The source also disclosed that the management of CDL allegedly maintained three different books – one for the auditors, one for the CBN and another for the public. He said the top management of CDL were aware of the mismanagement in the company but did nothing about it.

    In a letter to CDL Interim Administrator, CBN Director of Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins, informed lenders and unsecured depositors of the discount house of the probe. She said the CBN will pay the principal sums constituting the deposit liabilities of CDL to them after the verification.

    “This is to intimate all lenders and unsecured depositors of Consolidated Discount Limited (CDL) of on-going investigation into the books and accounts of the discount house by the CBN.

    “We assure such lenders/unsecured depositors that the CBN shall, without prejudice, pay the principal sums constituting the deposit liabilities of CDL to such lenders/unsecured depositors after the verification expected to be concluded soon,” she said.

  • FirstBank raises $300m from international markets

    FBN Holdings Plc has announced that its commercial banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. (FirstBank), has concluded a debt capital raising exercise in the international markets through a US $300 million subordinated Tier 2 transaction.

    FBN Holdings, which offers a broad range of products and services across commercial banking, investment banking, insurance and microfinance business in seven countries, said the proceeds from the capital raising would be used by First Bank for general banking purposes.

    According to a statement from the bank, the institution has chosen this route to ensure that it remains well capitalised with an improved total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 22.5per cent up from 20.1per cent as at the end of March 2013, and supports loan growth over the near term which is in line with FirstBank’s capital management strategy .

    In addition, the transaction further diversifies and extends the maturity of the Bank’s foreign currency funding.

    The Tier 2 capital transaction, the bank explained has a seven-year maturity and is callable on the 5th anniversary of the issuance date, even as the issue carries an initial coupon of 8.250 per cent on the nominal par amount, which resets at the call date to a new fixed rate (no step-up) until maturity.

    It added that the Tier 2 capital treatment amortises over the last five years prior to maturity.

    The successful offering was achieved within the context of volatile debt capital markets, especially for emerging market borrowers.

    This transaction is FirstBank’s second Tier 2 capital raise, following on its debut 2007 US $175 million Tier 2 capital raise which carried a 9.750 per cent coupon rate and which was called by the institution in 2012.

    ‘This makes FirstBank the only Nigerian banking institution to carry out not only one, but two consecutive subordinated Tier 2 capital raising transactions in the international debt markets.”

    FBN Capital, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, served as financial advisers with Citigroup and Goldman Sachs International also acting as advisers and Joint Lead Managers to FirstBank on the transaction.

  • Zenith Bank: The making of a transnational brand

    Zenith Bank was established in May 1990 but opened for business in July. After going public in June 17, 2004, the bank was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on October 21, 2004 following a highly successful initial public offer (IPO). The bank has a shareholder base of over one million and shareholder funds of $2.55 billion as at the end of Q2 2012.
    With headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, Zenith Bank has over 500 branches and business offices nationwide, with a presence in all the state capitals, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and major towns. In April 2007, Zenith became the first Nigerian bank in 25 years to be licensed by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), giving rise to Zenith Bank (UK) Limited. Zenith Bank also has a presence in Ghana, Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited; Sierra Leone, Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited; Gambia, Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited and a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Another representative office is being opened in Beijing, China this year.
    Zenith Bank’s management team is made up of seasoned professionals led by Godwin Emefiele, the Group Managing Director and CEO, who is a pioneering staff member and has been on the board for more than a decade. He took over the reins from  Ovia, in August 2010. The bank’s exceptional performance is built on its experienced leadership, professionalism and vision of the management and staff.
    According to Emefiele, “The vision of the bank has been to build the Zenith brand into a reputable international financial institution recognised for innovation, superior performance while creating premium value for all stakeholders.”
    The strategic objective of Zenith Bank includes the continuous improvement of its capacity to meet the customers’ increasing and dynamic banking needs as well as sustain high quality growth in a challenging business environment.
    Zenith Bank places high premium on the pivotal role of exceptional service delivery in its drive to consistently exceed customer expectations. Thus, the bank has put in place a well articulated strategy to meet and surpass customer expectations and ensures that plans and strategies are fine-tuned to address the changing taste and sophistication of the customer. The underlying philosophy is for the bank to remain at all times, a customer-focused institution with a clear understanding of its market and environment.
    As a leading institution in ICT-enabled banking in Nigeria, Zenith Bank has leveraged on its deep understanding of the local business environment and global financial market to develop unique e-solutions to meet varied and specific customer needs. The bank’s range of e-products covers virtually all services.”
    Zenith Bank is committed to an unwavering effort at improving the quality of life of the underserved. The bank’s service promise is premised on a pledge not just to its invaluable customers but also to its shareholders, employees and the larger society.  According to Emefiele, “This is why our business activities are carried out under the strictest observance of corporate ethics and respect for people and constituted authorities. Our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives are driven by a clear understanding of our environment and a strong knowledge of the resource gaps and pressing needs of communities and people within and beyond our areas of operations. The primary reason is the willingness and desire to give back to the people and communities that have been an encouragement in our pursuit of enterprise as well as a conviction that partnering with the public sector to address some areas of need is a healthy investment on our present and future.”
    In January 2012, Zenith Bank was recognised as one of the 30 outstanding global brands that are making sustainable impact on their operating environments in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The recognition was a prelude to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Conference on Sustainable Development (‘Road to Rio’), held in Brazil in May 2012. Zenith Bank was honoured along with 30 other global brands which included Airbus, France; ConocoPhillips, USA; Credit Suisse, Switzerland; KLM, Netherlands; South Korea; Olam International, Singapore; Unilever, Netherlands; Verizon, USA; Kia Motors, South Korea; among others.
    Over the years, Zenith Bank has consistently recorded good ratings from both the international (Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s) and local (Agusto & Co.) rating agencies. The ratings on Zenith Bank Plc are supported by its leading market position in all key performance indices.
    Zenith Bank has consistently put in place a robust system of corporate governance, bearing in mind the key elements of honesty, trust, integrity, openness and accountability as well as commitment to the organisation’s goals. To uphold strong corporate governance and transparency, the bank adopts a robust public disclosure policy. This is to forestall incidences of abuse, such as insider trading.
    Alluding to the success of Zenith Bank over the years, Emefiele said: “Managing our brand assets remains fundamental to our strategy and culture. Service excellence, trust, speed, ideas and efficiency are a set of capital that we accord high premium.  Our resolve in this regard is from an in-depth understanding of these intangible elements as creators of the emotional pull required to strengthen and extend our brand value to ultimately impact the bottom line.” Buoyed by its success story at home, Zenith Bank decided to globalise its operations by getting listed on the London Stock Exchange.
    Recently, the London Stock Exchange welcomed Zenith Bank, to its Main Market. The company is listing Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) in London, giving it access to a wide range of major institutional investors and significantly raising its international profile. The company’s market capitalisation at listing was $4.24 billion.
    According to Ibukun Adebayo, Head of Primary Markets, Africa at London Stock Exchange, “Zenith Bank’s listing highlights London’s leading role in supporting Nigeria’s burgeoning financial sector. Three major Nigerian banks have listed in London demonstrating UK and international investors’ appetite for exposure to this fast growing and increasingly diverse economy.”
    Zenith Bank is admitting 125 million GDRs which will trade on London Stock Exchange’s International Order Book, the world’s largest and most liquid GDR market. Each Zenith Bank GDR represents 50 ordinary shares.
    Zenith Bank is the third Nigerian Bank to list GDRs in London following Guaranty Trust Bank and Diamond Bank.    The bank’s listing means that the two largest Nigerian banks by market capitalisation are now listed in London. The company joins a vibrant community of 58 emerging market banks listed in London, valued collectively at just under $75 billion. The listing also gives Zenith access to the deepest international pool of capital in the world, currently holding more than $1.8 trillion in international equity assets. It joins five other companies on the London Stock Exchange’s markets that have major operations in Nigeria.
    Listing on the London Stock Exchange affords foreign investors and funds managers in Global Emerging Market an opportunity to access Zenith Bank shares, particularly those, who, due to internal policies/procedures are prevented from  trading, purchasing, selling shares in markets other than through the London Stock Exchange.  This means that with this listing on London Stock Exchange, investors can buy the shares not only through brokers on the floor of the NSE but also on the floor of London Stock Exchange.
    Establishing a liquid London GDR line will help Zenith Bank gain access to international investors, particularly GEM, CEEMEA and FIG specialist investors – GEM (Global Emerging Market) funds who are increasingly showing interest in Nigeria. Greater interest from global funds can be tapped into through a GDR listing as it would signal best in class disclosure, corporate governance and compliance.
    Also increased liquidity brings greater ability to use international debt/equity markets for future capital raises, lowering cost of capital.
    London corporate governance practices are considered ‘best in class’, giving investors additional comfort on equity story.
    Even though Zenith Bank is covered by about 17 analysts with six international and 11 local analysts, there is the potential to increase analysts coverage with the listing.

  • FirstBank, LEGO partner on children’s products

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has partnered with LEGO, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of children’s toys to introduce KidsFirst, one of the bank’s children products to the market.

    At an exclusive cinema screenings to mark this year’s Children’s Day, the bank unveiled a comprehensive programme that includes three new products, exciting content partnerships, a dynamic new website and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    Speaking on the programme, FirstBank’s spokesperson, Folake Ani-Mumuney said the partnership with LEGO represents the bank’s quest to create a platform for Nigerian children to express themselves and instill the culture of financial discipline in them.

    She said that KidsFirst, the first of the three products to be launched, combines the fun and excitement that children are looking for with the dependability and convenience that parents need. “The partnership with Lego will give KidsFirst account holders access to exclusive Lego events, content and products. As a children’s brand known for both entertainment and educational value, LEGO was the perfect partner for KidsFirst,” she said.

    She listed some of the benefits of the products to include low opening and operating balances, an annual scholarship scheme and the convenience of internet banking.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Will FirstBank still be the first?

    FBN Holdings Plc, the holding company for First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) and its previous subsidiaries, achieved strong fundamental performance in 2012 and first quarter of the year. But the share price is still substantially undervalued. Taofik Salako reports that there is still potential for capital appreciation

    FBN Holdings opens today with a year-to-date return of 16.73 per cent, nearly half of Nigerian stock market’s overall average return of 33.02 per cent. FBN’s market consideration is also significantly below the banking subsector’s average index return of 28.45 per cent.

    The share pricing trend belies the impressive growths in key fundamental indicators showed by the full-year earnings reports for 2012 and the interim report for the first quarter of this year. But the underlying dynamics for FBN Holdings are crucial for determining market’s possible future direction and the latent potential for the bank’s future consideration.

    While the market situation exerts influence on FBN Holdings’ pricing trend, the performance trend of FBN Holdings is also a major factor in the interplay that determines overall market position. With a market capitalisation of about N600 billion, FBN Holdings today accounts for 5.0 per cent of total equity market capitalisation. It holds significant influence more than all subsectors on the NSE excluding the banking, food products, breweries, building materials and its other financial institutions subgroups.

    With capitalisation nearly four times the size of entire populous insurance subsector, its pricing trend will exert more influence on overall market situation than the collective trend in several subsectors.

    While the fundamental figures have shown remarkable improvements, the share pricing trend appears to be following similar pattern like the previous year. At the onset of the bank’s comeback bid in May 2012, it had posted a year-to-date return of 18.1 per cent. By August, the year-to-date return had increased to 46.6 per cent and the bank subsequently rallied some 30 percentage points within the last four months to close the year with 76.6 per cent capital gain. Will there be a repeat of the pattern throughout this year? The underlying fundamentals of the bank appear to support potential rally.

     

    Regaining momentum

     

    FBN Holdings quadrupled net profit in 2012, its first operational year after the unbundling of First Bank of Nigeria and its subsidiaries into a holding company structure. Audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012 showed that profit after tax increased by 306 per cent to N75.7 billion in 2012 as against N18.6 billion in 2011. Profit before tax had jumped by 158.5 per cent from N35.8 billion to N92.7 billion. The net bottom-line implied earnings per share of N2.33 for 2012 compared with 60 kobo in 2011. On the strength of the strong bottom-line performance, the board of directors of the company has recommend distribution of N32.6 billion as dividends to shareholders, representing a dividend per share of N1.

    The bottom-line performance rode on the back of 31 per cent increase in gross earnings, driven primarily by core commercial banking operations. Gross earnings closed 2012 at N359.8 billion with net interest income rising by 27.8 per cent from N176.2 billion to N225.2 billion. Non-interest income also grew by 20.1 per cent. The balance sheet of the company also emerged stronger with 11.4 per cent increase in total assets from N2.9 trillion to N3.2 trillion. Total customer deposits grew by 23 per cent to N2.4 trillion, with approximately 80 per cent of total deposits in the low-cost segment. Shareholders’ funds increased by 19 per cent to N438.8 billion.

     

    What value ?

    While market response to the company’s 2012 full-year earnings report was largely muted, it appears the market has failed to note the changing fundamentals and pricing dynamics of the top banks. As against the full-year report for 2012 when the top three banks were jostling for the leadership position of the industry based on favourable performance indicator peculiar to each bank, the first quarter reports for 2013 showed a consolidation in favour of FBN Holdings as industry’s largest and most profitable financial services company.

    Key performance indicators for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 showed considerable growths for FBN Holdings. The three-month report showed that FBN Holdings’ profit before tax rose by 28.9 per cent while gross earnings increased by 13.5 per cent. The company’s total assets firmed up to N3.5 trillion, the largest in the financial services industry. Gross earnings stood at N99.5 billion as against N87.6 billion recorded in comparable period of 2012. Profit before tax rose from N24.4 billion to N31.4 billion. Profit after tax increased by 22 per cent to N24.4 billion in 2013 compared with N20.2 billion recorded in corresponding period of 2012. The balance sheet of the company also showed appreciable improvements with total balance sheet size improving from 2013’s opening value of N3.2 trillion to close the first quarter at N3.5 trillion, representing addition of N200 billion during the three months. Total customer deposits increased by N131.4 billion to N2.5 trillion as against N2.4 trillion recorded as opening value for the year.

    In all the key parameters- gross earnings, profit before tax, net profit after tax and total assets, FBN Holdings significantly exceeded both Zenith Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), the two competing top-tier banks. Zenith recorded profit before tax of N28.88 billion on gross earnings of N86.98 billion during the period. Profit after tax stood at N23.41 billion. Zenith Bank’s total balance sheet size closed first quarter at N2.77 trillion. GTBank recorded gross earnings of N63.57 billion. Profits before and after tax stood at N28.49 billion and N22.56 billion respectively. GTBank’s total assets increased to N1.84 trillion by March 2013. Annualized, the first quarter report indicates strong possibility that FBN Holdings could consolidate its impressive performance in 2012 with another significant, though not as jumpy, performance in 2013. The import of this is yet to fully reflect on the pricing trend. While both GTBank and Zenith Bank open today at their highest prices, FBN Holdings is not only trading below its high but also significantly below market considerations of the other top three banks. GTBank opens today as highest-priced financial stock at N29.05. Zenith Bank follows with opening value of N22.75 per share.

     

    Sustaining the trend

    The board and management of FBN Holdings said the company would consolidate the first quarter performance. Chief executive officer, FBN Holdings, Bello Maccido said the first quarter report reflected the resilience of the financial services group, especially the flagship commercial banking business, which accounted for more than 94 per cent of group’s profit before tax. According to him, the group has continued to improve its cost efficiency through reduction of the rate of growth in its expenses and it hopes to consolidate this in the periods ahead as it explores further ways of optimising its revenue.

    He noted that though the investment banking and asset management business recorded improved performance over the period, it was impacted by slower than anticipated growth in assets under management and weak primary capital market activity. “Overall, we are focused on extracting and unlocking value from the exciting portfolio of businesses within the Group in coming periods,” Maccido said.

    Group Managing Director, FirstBank of Nigeria, Bisi Onasanya said the bank would continue to pursue a competitive pricing mechanism across products and services to mitigate the negative effect of certain regulatory measures.

    “We will also continue to explore avenues to optimise our efficiency while using initiatives such as mobile banking and other alternative delivery methods to reduce our cost to serve,” Onasanya said.

    He noted that some 409,000 new accounts were opened during eh first three months of the year, bringing total number of accounts to about 9.1 million. According to him, FirstBank has sustained progress in its electronic banking business and is repositioning the business in response to industry challenges.

    “To expand business volumes and enhance market penetration, First Bank has continued to drive growth in the value chain of key segments of the economy such as the oil and gas, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors,” Onasanya said.

    Besides the prospective realisation of the imports of emerging FBN Holdings’ fundamentals, peer valuation and competitive pricing hold strong potential for FBN Holdings’ future market consideration.

  • FirstBank targets 10% loan growth this year

    FBN Holdings Plc aims to grow loans 10 per cent this year for its banking unit, down from 23 per cent growth in 2012, as it tries to balance its capital needs with creating risk assets.

    The CEO, FirstBank, Bisi Onasanya, told Bloomberg at the weekend that the lender had a capital adequacy ratio of 21 per cent and it wanted to balance its capital needs with loan growth, as it had no plan to raise fresh equity capital in the short term.

    FirstBank has deepened its retail dominance as demonstrated with the launch of key retail bank products such as Firstmonie, a mobile financial services solution that enables subscribers conveniently perform banking transactions. The lender said that with the establishment of a few credit bureaux, the industry is now headed towards credit cards and therefore, developed a naira credit card in the last quarter of 2012 and has been aggressively driving it this year.

    The bank said its retail business goals were achieved by further segmentation of the market into affluent, mass and Diaspora markets while providing affordable and segment specific products for each segment. The lender said it has also improved its level of service delivery across all delivery channels by investing in its people and deployment of state of the art Information Technology infrastructures to support the business.

    The bank said it has been successful in growing its consumer/retail loan portfolio and considerably reducing incidence of loan loss often associated with retail lending. These successes, it said, were recorded due to the availability of a vast array of products for each retail segment, superior branch network/support system and improved credit monitoring culture.

     

     

  • FirstBank finances N750b oil and gas projects

    FirstBank of Nigeria Plc has advanced credits in excess of N750 billion to finance various oil and gas projects, indicating that the confidence in bankrolling such deals by banks is on the rise.

    The bank’s Executive Director, Kehinde Lawanson, disclosed this at the just concluded offshore technology conference in Houston, Texas.

    Highlighting the contributions of the financial institutions to the energy sector and commitment to developing local capacity, he said out of FirstBank’s N1.5 trillion loans and advances, over 45 per cent went to oil and gas.

    “If you look at the loans and advances component of our balance sheet, we are very close to about N1.5 trillion and I can say confidently that over 45 per cent of this money went to the upstream, midstream and downstream of the petroleum industry. FirstBank also finances 40 per cent of petroleum imports into the country,” he said.

    Showcasing the strength of FirstBank to investors and operators at the confab, Lawanson said the bank has since 1958 been financing projects for international and Nigerian oil companies.

    He said the bank was lender and arranger of hybrid loans in excess of $225 million for cash call and other working capital financing for Shell Petroleum Development Company; syndicated a medium term loan facility of $225 million for pipeline construction and completion of a gas central processing facility at Uquo marginal field for Seven Energy and its subsidiary, Accugas Limited.

    FirstBank is also part of the syndicate that refinanced the $550 million facility used to acquire 45 per cent interests from oil mining leases (OMLs) 4, 38, 41 from Shell and Seplat. These oil wells produce combined average of 55,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 125 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of gas from the assets.

    Other projects financed wholly or partly by FirstBank include the $100 million 128km gas pipeline to Unicem cement plant in Calabar, Cross River being handled by East Horizon Gas Company; co-lender of $289 million to Atlantic Energy for working capital and payment for 55 per cent interests of National Petroleum Development Company in OMLs 26, 30, 34, 42; sole financier of the $15.15 million facility for acquisition of two vessels by Fymak Marine and Oil Services Nigeria Limited; and provided part of the bridge loan financing for the acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ divested interests in OMLs 60, 61, 62, and 63.

    Lawanson, however, explained that the bank doesn’t engage in speculative financing or high risk venture for fear of losing depositors’ money. He said in the oil and gas industry, the bank finances only confirmed producing assets and doesn’t get involved in exploration, which is the primary step to finding oil.

    He said: “The assets that we have created in terms of loans to the oil and gas sector are doing very well. For instance, in FirstBank, our non-performing ratio in total loans is less than three per cent. That is comparable with any bank internationally. We don’t provide loans for development, we provide loans for production. In other words, even where we are funding marginal fields, or some of the oil mining lease (OML) assets, we ensure that they are already in production. So, we can fund increase in production, equity acquisition but we normally don’t do speculative financing. So we have to be sure that you have actually discovered oil and in production.

    “In continued financing of marginal fields and other assets in the oil and gas industry, we put our money where we are sure of the cash flow. When the company is already in production, you are sure of the cash flow, so all that we finance essentially is either acquisition or capacity increase. Companies that we put our money in are companies that we are sure of their cash flow. “

    On financing of high risk ventures, he said the bank cannot afford to bet the monies of the banking publics in Nigeria on risks that it cannot guarantee safety. There is no bank except the CBN that prints money; every bank intermediates, in other words, you identify people with surplus funds and partner them, he added.

    He explained that even in global financing, when there is high risk entity, there are ways of structuring these high risk entities. He said it is either you look for venture capital or equity financing in such deals. Mr Lawanson said: “We cannot afford to put the money of the Nigerian banking public at risk. There are different areas you can play that are in tandem with risk appetite of depositors and that is where we go. First Bank has been in existence for over 118 years and we don’t want to tell a depositor who wants his money stories. We cannot afford that and that is the reason in our risk profiling, we have decided which segments that will not endanger people’s deposits. Anybody who has very high venture, there are players in the market place to partner with them. Nothing stops such persons from going to the IOCs with deep pockets to be their partners.

    “On interest rate, you heard the testimony that the managing director of Seplat gave. Beyond Seplat because of our conservatism, we allow them (our clients) to do the speaking themselves because some customers want confidentiality. They don’t want their transactions in public domain. There are many companies that have got in excess of what we provided Seplat.

    “Borrowing abroad is not profitable because when they compare it with all kinds of commissions and arrangements, their interest rate becomes comparable to the ones that we provide locally in Nigeria. We are relatively low cost bank and that is why we are attractive to Nigerian business people and community.”

    Corroborating Mr Lawanson, Managing Director of Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Mr Austin Avuru, said his company is one of the beneficiaries. He said it secured interest rate of between eight and nine per cent. He, however, explained that getting such facilities depend on the company’s credit rating.

    He said other banks, which are big players in oil and gas project financing with friendly interest rates, include Skye Bank and United Bank for Africa.

  • First Bank to float insurance firm

    First Bank of Nigeria Plc has concluded plans to float a general business arm. The bank will by next month announce its position on the new underwriting firm.

    Earlier, it had established life insurance business with Sanlam Emerging Markets of South Africa.

    A source said the group has been putting together necessary requirements for the smooth take-off of the firm.

    He said: “We are still working on it, before the end of next month, we will make a formal announcement. At the moment, we can’t say much for we are bound by some level of confidentiality. When we get to that stage, we will make a formal announcement.”

    FBN Life, a joint venture between FirstBank of Nigeria Plc and Sanlam Emerging Markets of South Africa, which was licensed to transact life insurance business in Nigeria, started operations on September 1, 2010.

    In the joint venture, FirstBank of Nigeria Plc owns 65 per cent of FBN Life, while Sanlam owns 35 per cent.

    Managing Director, FirstBank of Nigeria Life Assurance Limited, Val Ojumah, said by the middle of this year, the bank would have acquired a non-life licence either by buying a non-life company or by getting a fresh licence. We are approaching the issue with both hands.”

  • FirstBank MD wins award

    The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Plc Mr. Bisi Onasanya has emerged the winner of the 2012 EMEA Finance “CEO of the Year Award”.

    At the well-attended ceremony, organised under the aegis of the Annual African Banking Awards, now in its fifth edition, First Bank of Nigeria Plc also won the “Best Local Bank in Nigeria for 2012”.

    FirstBank had won two previous editions of the award in 2009 and 2010. The African Banking Awards is regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence. Individual nominees are judged by their ability to deliver shareholder returns and gain strategic advantage in terms of market visibility and positioning, while institutions are appraised based on the performance of their critical fundamentals.

     

  • FirstBank assures customers of quality service

    FirstBank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) has assured its customers of enhanced services across its networks nationwide. In a customers’ forum held in Lagos, the bank had highlighted its new products and services, including e-business services, alternative channels, and the various transformational initiatives of the Bank over the past one year.

    Speaking at the forum, FirstBank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Bisi Onasanya said as a pan Nigerian financial institution, the lender recognizes the need for periodic interaction with its customers to foster efficient service delivery. “We believe every business is as strong as the value it places on its customers. We are very passionate about our customers and see this forum as a platform to receive feedback from our customers and further position the Bank to delight our customers and partner with them on sundry financial advisory services and business growth initiatives,” he said.

    Onasanya said the bank had since deployed an operating model that realigned its market facing business units from a geographic focus to a customer segmented approach to deepen its understanding of each customer segment.