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Tag: FirstBank

  • FirstBank to host FinTech summit

    In line with its corporate strategy to drive transformation through its products, processes and services, FirstBank has announced a three-day Financial Technology (FinTech) summit.

    The event comes with the theme: The Future of Banking – the Role of AI and Big Data. The event is convened to increase technological support and collaboration with the tech community whilst deepening the Bank’s technological inclusion framework to improve its product offerings and services delivery experience.

    The FirstBank 2018 FinTech summit is scheduled to kick off with a 2-day coding competition – Hackathon – billed for Thursday and Friday 11th and 12th October 2018 whilst the summit holds Wednesday 17 October 2018 with over 700 FinTech players and stakeholders to attend.

    The Hackathon is projected to focus on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. 10 teams will be contesting for the grand prize of N3 million in a competition to show off their technological and artificial intelligence capabilities with the second and third best teams carting away the sum of N1.5 million and N750,000 respectively.

    The 10 teams will also have an opportunity to showcase their solutions at the FinTech summit scheduled for 17 October.

     

  • FirstEdu promotes schools growth

    FirstBank has announced its FirstEdu educational solution specifically designed to support schools in need of improvement and growth in meeting their medium and long-term goals. The FirstEdu product includes FirstEdu portal and FirstEdu loan.

    FirstEdu loan is targeted at private Nursery & Primary, 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.

    The product enables customers’ access up to N20 million facility with no tangible collateral, apart from domiciliation of school fees 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.

    On the other hand, FirstEdu portal is a robust web-based enterprise portal that enables educational institutions (private Nursery & Primary, Secondary, A-Levels schools and Tertiary Institutions) manage academic, administrative, professional, logistics and payment challenges. The basis for its robustness is to take the stress of logistics and payment challenges off schools, as they focus on meeting the year-long and medium-term objectives of their school(s).

    Read Also: FirstBank promotes e-payment with Digital Lab

    The product features and benefits include; e-Learning, virtual library and facilitation of exchange programmes with foreign educational institutions; academic & student events/time-table/calendar management; school fees payment via the internet; online information and result checking; interactive community forum between students and teachers. It also affords applicants the opportunity of enrolling from the comfort of their homes or any location around the world; no licensing, installation and maintenance cost and plugs avenues for revenue leakages amongst others.

    According to Abiodun Famuyiwa, Group Head, Products & Marketing Support, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, with FirstEdu, private schools across the various tiers of education in Nigeria; elementary, secondary and tertiary, have the right tool to boost their business to the level they desire.

    Customers and stakeholders are enjoined to visit any FirstBank branch or contact us on our social media channels for further information on FirstEdu.

  • FirstBank promotes e-payment with Digital Lab

    FirstBank Digital Lab will convene for its second Fireside chat this Friday, the lender has said. The bank’s digital lab would play host to the event with the topic “Artificial Intelligence in Banking & Payments”, facilitated by OpeAdeoye, Managing Partner, 2iLabs.

    The FirstBank Digital Lab Fireside Chat is a public conversation that brings together active players in the technology community to have thought-provoking discussions, revealing new perspectives on a range of discussion points, pulling out genuinely relevant insights.

    The topic for this edition is in recognition of the extensive and growing impact Artificial Intelligence (Ai) is having on the modus operandi of the Nigerian banking industry as a basis for competitive advantage in service delivery by industry players and its culminating influence in the experience by end users, customers.

    The monthly series which debuted on Friday, 27 July 2018 highlights FirstBank’s digital-centric approach to business as it aims to promote fintech penetration amongst its stakeholders. The engagement provides a vantage forum for practitioners to have experience of success stories and foster the exchange of ideas on trends in the industry.

     

  • FirstBank employees lift partially sighted, Down Syndrome children

    IN the spirit of its Corporate Responsibility (CRS) and Sustainability Week themed: “Touching Lives; You First”, employees of FirstBank, Nigeria Limited, has shared moments with physically challenged children in Lagos and presented numerous gifts items  to them.

    They included foodstuffs and toiletries. The bank workers visited orphanages; homes for the physically challenged, and other institutions that require support across the country.

    The event took place across the country and other Africa countries where FirstBank’s subsidiaries has offices.  They include, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal.

    Defying the torrential rain, the bank’s top-level management staff visited Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children, and the Down Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria in Surulere, Lagos, to interact with the pupils and presented food, health and sanitary items contributed by the staff of the bank to them.

    Similarly, the bank presented foodstuff and other materials to orphanage babies home at Anua in Uyo and Generate of Handmaid of Holy Child of Jesus motherless home in Ifuho, Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, with a view to giving the children a sense of belonging.

    In Abuja, it was the same story as Al Ansar Orphanage Home and Abuja School for the Handicap, both in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Teritory (FCT), Abuja, also received essential materials.

    Expressing appreciation on behalf of the management and pupils of Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children, the Headmistress, Sister Jane Onyeneri, thanked FirstBank for the kind gesture and the gifts, which she described as timely.

    Sister Onyeneri said the school, founded on June 16, 1962 and owned by the Catholic Arch-Diocese of Lagos, accommodates 140 pupils, adding that it is a non-denominational institution.

    “The school offers the pupils free tuition, free feeding and free accommodation. So, we really appreciate FirstBank’s timely intervention and consider it an act of kindness that will go a long way in ensuring the school continues to do this,” Onyeneri stated.

    Speaking for the FirstBank team, Group Executive, Retail Banking, Lagos and West, Mr. Tunde Owolabi, said: “FirstBank Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Week is set aside to promote acts of random kindness and create opportunities for staff to give their time and resources to defined courses in line with the bank’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability strategic approach.”

    He said the ‘Hope Rising’ initiative is one of the key programmes of the Bank designed to empower people living with disabilities.

    “Its key objective is engendering inclusivity and diversity through training as well as inclusive events. The partnership with Pacelli School falls under the Hope Rising platform and this includes support in cash and kind,” Owolabi noted.

    Touched by the show of appreciation in the emotion-laden sonorous songs rendered by the pupils, Owolabi donation to the school, while appealing to other well-meaning Nigerians to render assistance to the needy. The FirstBank team also promised to send representatives and more gifts at the school’s graduation.

    The FirstBank team that visited Pacelli School for the Blind, included Head, Alternative Workforce, Yinka Folorunsho, and Head, Talent Management, Muyiwa Olulaja, among others.

    Apart from visiting and donating to orphanages/less privileged  homes and IDPs, the other four key initiatives of the FirstBank’s CRS are career counselling for secondary school students, commemoration of the UN International Widow’s Day in partnership with the International Women Society, and Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) initiative, designed to encourage people to be kind and uphold values.

    First Bank of Nigeria is also in partnership with Vision Spring to empower people with impaired vision by providing eyeglasses and lens at very affordable rates.

  • FirstBank to redeem $300m Bonds before maturity

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited will be calling and prepaying holders of $300 million FBN Finance Company BV Subordinated Callable Note due 2020 on August 7, the lender has said.

    The fixed rate subordinated Note is held by FBN Finance Company B.V.

    Accordingly, FBN Finance Company B.V. exercised its option to call the $300 million 8.25 per cent subordinated notes, raised in the international debt markets, due August 2020.

    The lender said calling these notes ahead of maturity, demonstrates the strength of its foreign currency liquidity and the resilience of its balance sheet. “Despite the 2020 Bond being a subordinated Tier 2 instrument, we are able to redeem this without any impact on our capital ratios, due to the surplus Tier 2 capital we currently hold confirming the robust capital base of the bank,” it said.

    To ensure the smooth redemption, FirstBank had systematically built up internal liquidity on the back of a strong franchise and its deep market access in the course of 2018. Foreign currency deposits had grown 11.9 per cent year-to-date and 6.9 per cent year-on-year.

    FirstBank said it will not be reissuing debt in Eurobond markets in the near term, following the planned redemption. “Reissuance will be a function of our funding needs, market conditions, expected pricing in relation to alternative funding structure and sources. At the moment, the Bank has ample liquidity to meet foreign and local currency funding needs and maintains sufficient market access to raise additional funds, if required,” it said.

    It is important to note that the bank through its various SPVs , like FBN Finance Company B.V. is a repeat issuer and this exercise would make it the second time FirstBank will call and prepay bondholders following its debut 2007 9.75 per cent $175 million which was called in 2012. It is a known issuer in international debt markets and has significant market access

    The bank has remained focused on delivering on its strategic objectives and continues to execute towards; improving its asset quality and risk management; enhancing revenue generation; and optimizing operational efficiency.

  • FirstBank holds Chinese Business Forum

    As part of its strategic drive to strengthen business partnerships between Nigeria and China, First Bank of Nigeria Limited has organised the FirstBank-Chinese Business forum.

    The event, having Deepening Sino-Nigerian Cooperation as theme, was organised as part of the overarching strategy by the bank to drive business conversations and the promotion of business and economic partnerships between Nigeria and China.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently reached a currency swap agreement with the Peoples Bank of China in order to ease the burden of the liquidity issues faced by Nigerian business owners and Chinese manufacturers.

    Notably, FirstBank is among the four banks appointed as settlement banks in the deal.

    Group Chairman, CIG Motors, Chief Diana Chen,  was among the panelists at the plenary session and discussed the recently signed currency swap deal between the Chinese and the Nigeria governments,  Lekki free trade zone and other collaborations between Nigeria and China.

    FirstBank’s Group Executive, Treasury & Financial Institutions, Ini Ebong; Head, Foreign Banking Services, Ayotunde Fanimokun and Group Head, Products & Marketing Support, Abiodun Famuyiwa joined in the plenary session with the Chinese industrialist. Mr. Ebong led the FirstBank’s team.

    Adesola Adeduntan, the MD/CEO, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited & Subsidiaries said: “The business relationship between China and Nigeria is of great importance to us hence the establishment of our Representative Office in Beijing, China in 2010, to cater to the growing needs of Sino-Nigeria businesses, and to provide support in channeling trade flows between the two countries. Our promise is that we will always deliver the ultimate gold standard of value and financial excellence as we put customers at the heart of our business.”

    With the establishment of its representative office in China, FirstBank became the first Nigerian bank to record its presence in the Asian country and has since  been a financial gateway in promoting business between China and Nigeria, a recognition that earned the Bank an invitation as a member of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to promote the strategic advancement of the China Belt and Road Initiative, the United Nations 2030 agenda and the African Union 2063 development strategies for African economies.

    The FirstBank-Chinese business forum is one of the bank’s efforts to drive better customer services culture as part of its service excellence initiative.

  • FirstBank holds Agric expo

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has organised an Agric Expo as part of its commitment to supporting agric businesses across the value chain. Besides, it is to play its enabling role in the nation’s drive for economic diversification through agriculture.

    The Expo, themed: “Innovating for a Sustainable Green Economy” launched in 2017, was designed as a lead to national discourse on the economic benefits of sustainable agriculture value-chain as an alternative source of economic development and foreign exchange through export.

    The event, which was over-subscribed by100 per cent, had in attendance key policy influencers, agriculture service providers, primary producers, exporters and top players in the agric value chain.

    The 2018 Agric expo was geared to drive conversations and collaborations that promote sustainable businesses for Agropreneurs, while creating avenues for growth and increased per capita income in the larger economy. Minister of Agriculture and Rural development, Audu Ogbeh, was the special guest of honour at the expo, while Doyin Salami, a Senior Fellow/Associate Professor and full-time member of the Faculty at the Lagos Business School delivered the keynote address on the theme of the day.

    The minister officially declared the expo open and led other dignitaries on a tour of the exhibition booths as he did in the inaugural edition. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment delivered the goodwill message at the event.

    Speaking at the event, Managing Director/CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Subsidiaries, Adesola Adeduntan said the lender has over the years, committed to nation building, whilst promoting agric-business and the development of the economy in Nigeria.

  • FirstBank to mark CSR week in eight countries

    FirstBank of Nigeria Limited is commemorating the second edition of its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week from tomorrow.

    The event, has as theme ‘Touching Lives; You First’.

    The week-long event, which is being commemorated across its business communities in Nigeria, United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, is a reflection of the bank’s brand promise to put stakeholder needs first, while it reinforces the Bank’s role in driving sustainable development in the communities where it operates.

    First Bank of Nigeria Managing Director/CEO, Adesola Adeduntan stated that the week would amplify the bank’s employee Giving and Volunteering scheme as ‘’we all collaborate across our business communities to create sustainable impact, touch lives and make our societies a better place to live’’.

    The Week would witness the culmination and consolidation of the bank’s interventions in social responsibility, promoting random acts of kinds across 800 communities to reignite acts of kindness in our society. The events are tailored towards re-orientating the society along the right values; encouraging the citizenry to intentionally create positive impact in their immediate environment.

    Major highlights of the commemoration include promoting Acts of Random Kindness in over 800 Business Communities – This initiative launched in 2017 as Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness has been expanded to give opportunities to everyone who wants to participate.

    It  has been tagged ‘Start Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK)  and a Giving platform has been put in place to encourage all to donate.

     

  • Money transfer: FirstBank, WorldRemit partner

    WorldRemit, a digital money transfer firm, has partnered with First Bank of Nigeria Limited to deliver instant money transfers to all of the lender’s acounts in Nigeria.

    The partnership considerably expands WorldRemit’s footprint and allows its customers in over 50 countries to send money to FirstBank accounts directly from their phones.

    Over the years, FirstBank has taken the lead in providing relevant e-payment options for its customers. The bank pioneered with Western Union Money Transfer in 1996, then Transfast Money Transfer, MoneyGram, Ria, PayPal, Pay Attitude and now, WorldRemit.

    Speaking i at the pact signing in Lagos, Deputy Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Gbenga Shobo, said the lender has extended its frontiers to WorldRemit in order to leverage the wide e-platform capabilities it offers to further ease the money transfer process for our numerous customers across the globe who seek new and easier payment transaction options regularly.

    “WorldRemit’s mobile-first, digital model complements FirstBank’s digital strategy to drive convenient banking transactions from the comfort of homes and offices using the FirstMobile and FirstOnline banking platforms,” he said.

    He added: “WorldRemit’s plan to serve 10 million customers connected to emerging markets by 2020. FirstBank is collaborating with WorldRemit to drive convenience and ease of banking for its teeming customers as well as provide the much-needed push for financial inclusion initiatives.

    Established since 1894 and with footprints in six African countries and a full-fledged branch in London, FirstBank has over 14 million customer accounts and more than 750 business locations providing a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services across these markets”.

    Regional Head of Middle East & Africa at WorldRemit, Andrew Stewart, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with First Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks, to give its 14 million customers access to our best in class money transfer experience. Nigeria remains our largest and fastest growing market in Africa and WorldRemit’s second biggest market globally. This is a key partnership in the country that will further support Nigeria’s transition from offline remittances to online, safer, faster and lower-cost money transfer methods.”

    He said that with a diaspora of over 15 million people living in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, remittances play an increasingly important role in Nigeria’s economy. The World Bank estimates that in 2017 alone, Nigeria received over $22 billion in remittances, making it the largest recipient in Africa.

     

    Sub-Saharan Africa still remains the most expensive region to send remittances to, with an average cost of 9.4 percent for sending $200, according to the World Bank.

    WorldRemit’s mobile-first, digital model provides migrants abroad with an affordable means of sending money, in a few taps directly from their phones – without the inconvenience of visiting brick and mortar agent locations. WorldRemit customers’ complete over one million transfers every month from 50 send countries to over 145 destinations. More than half of these transfers go to Africa.

    According to Group Head, Products and Marketing Support at FirstBank, Abiodun Famuyiwa, the bank is excited to be working WorldRemit in delivering swift digital remittances to its customers in Nigeria. This partnership is one of the numerous ways the Bank would continue to put customers first by leading the industry in the use of technology to provide safe, convenient and fast banking solutions.

     

  • How FirstMobile works, by FirstBank

    FirstMobile is a mobile banking application (app) developed to provide a number of banking services to its esteemed customers via the internet connected smartphones, FirstBank has said.

    In an emailed explanatory notes, the lender said it is a self-service app that allows the customer to easily download, activate and do banking transaction on the customers’ smartphones without intervention from any of its officials.

    The app, it said, currently works on Apple, Android and Blackberry devices and is available via their respective official app store. It can also be accessed via https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/getfirstmobile.

    “FirstMobile has a growing bouquet of services to satisfy your banking requirements. These include intra-bank transfers; inter-bank transfers; virtual airtime top-up; bills payment; and check confirmation. The steps to download the app include: open app store; search for FirstMobile; click app named FirstMobile (ensure FirstBank logo and name of publisher is FirstBank Nigeria); then click on install,” the lender explained.

    It said after download and installation are completed the app has to be activated, stressing that the activation process is fully self-service and does not require visiting a FirstBank Branch. “Then open and click on “register” to commence the activation process and follow the prompt; you are expected to input the following information on the final page required to complete the activation process: two security questions and answers; transaction personal identification number (PIN); then tap Save to complete the process,” the lender explained.