brand
FIRSTBANK’S FIRSTADVANCE – FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT FOR GOOD REASONS
Ade is a hardworking father in Lagos. Recently, fate dealt him a heavy blow when his young son, Tunde, fell scarily ill. Tunde’s illness struck suddenly, sending shockwaves through Ade’s world. As he watched his son grow weaker on a hospital bed with each passing hour, Ade felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The medical bills pushed to him only added to his despair, threatening to drown him. Ade found himself grappling not only with the fear of losing his beloved son but also with the burden of financial strain.
Desperate, Ade turned to FirstAdvance, a lifeline in his time of need. With its swift and convenient loan service, Ade was able to access the funds he so desperately required to pay for Tunde’s medical bills. Amid his darkest hour, FirstAdvance offered that lifeline, the ray of light that pierced through his despair.
Slowly but surely, Tunde improved; his emaciated body grew stronger with each passing day. And as he watched his son’s health gradually return, Ade knew that FirstAdvance had not only helped save Tunde’s life but had also given him permanent hope in times of financial challenges.
In diverse situations of need, a growing number of FirstBank account holders are finding solace in FirstAdvance, and for good reason – financial empowerment.
In the dynamic landscape of finance, digital lending has emerged as a vital tool for economic empowerment, especially in developing economies. Recognising this, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a pioneer in financial inclusion services, has introduced FirstAdvance, a groundbreaking digital lending solution aimed at providing convenient and swift access to cash for salary earners awaiting payment of their salaries.
FirstAdvance caters to the needs of salary earners whose accounts are domiciled with FirstBank and have received regular salaries for the past two months or more. This innovative product ensures quick access to funds with maximum amounts varying based on the chosen variant. For the 30-day variant, customers can access up to 50% of their net monthly income, with a maximum limit of N1,000,000, while the 3-month variant allows for up to N2,000,000, subject to 75% of the net monthly salary.
The process of availing FirstAdvance is seamless and can be initiated via the bank’s digital channels, either by dialing *894*11# and selecting FirstAdvance on USSD or through the user-friendly FirstMobile App. What sets FirstAdvance apart is its user-centric features such as:
Swift Processing: With FirstAdvance, obtaining a loan is as quick as a minute, ensuring timely assistance during financial emergencies.
Flexible Tenor: Customers can choose between a 30-day or 3-month repayment period, aligning with their pay cycle for added convenience.
Transparent Fees: FirstBank ensures transparency by collecting all fees, including interest rates, upfront upon loan disbursement, empowering customers with clarity and predictability in their financial transactions.
Automated Risk Acceptance: The Risk Acceptance Criteria for FirstAdvance is automated, streamlining the process and ensuring fair assessment without unnecessary delays.
Continuous Support: Beyond FirstAdvance, FirstBank extends its support to customers across all income bands with offers like Personal Loan Against Salary (PLAS), providing long-term loan solutions with convenient repayment plans of up to 60 months. The maximum amount a customer can get on PLAS is N100m.
Since its inception, FirstAdvance has witnessed remarkable success, with over 450 thousand unique customers benefiting from over 9.4 million successful transactions, totaling over 225 billion naira in disbursed loans.
Although digital lending has become ubiquitous, FirstAdvance stands out to be among the most competitive in the industry.
In an era marked by digital transformation, FirstBank remains at the forefront, leveraging technology to deepen financial inclusion and empower individuals and households across Nigeria. Whether it’s addressing immediate financial needs or providing long-term financial solutions, FirstBank continues to be a trusted partner in the journey toward economic prosperity.
For salary account holders with FirstBank seeking quick and hassle-free access to loans, FirstAdvance stands as a reliable solution. Dial *894*11# or initiate your loan request via the FirstMobile App today and transform your financial goals into reality with FirstBank.
In times like these, when inflation is eroding Nigerians’ wealth daily, there will always be an increasing need for that lifeline. FirstAdvance, powered by FirstBank, stands ready to continually meet its customers’ financial needs during that time of need, literally within one minute.
brand
GTCO Plc Releases 2025 Full Year Audited Result …Declares Another Record Dividend of 12.76k;
![]()
Re-affirming Unrivalled Capacity to Creating Value₦ Lagos, London – 31st March 2026Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or the “Group”) has released its Audited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE).The Group reported profit before tax of 1.23trillion underpinned by strong growth in core earnings, with interest₦ income and fee income increasing y-o-y by 23.2% and 25.9%, respectively. The performance reaffirms its capacity to generate sustainable earnings and builds on the momentum from 2024, when GTCO delivered a record profit of 1.27trillion, driven in part by 517.5billion in fair value gains, which did not recur in 2025.₦ ₦The Group’s 2025 profit after tax came in at 865.75billion against 1.02trillion recorded in 2024. The profit after tax₦ ₦ reflects the impact of recent fiscal policy adjustments to the taxation of investment securities, notably withholding tax on short-term instruments. However, when normalised for this effect, underlying earnings remain robust, driven by growth in core operating income. The Group continues to maintain a well-structured, healthy, and diversified balance sheet in all the jurisdictions wherein it operates a Banking franchise, as well as across its Payments, Pension and Funds Management business verticals. Total assets and shareholders’ funds closed at 1₦ 7.8trillion and 3.₦ 4trillion, respectively. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very robust and strong, closing at 43.8%, likewise asset quality improved as evidenced by IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans which closed at 3.4% and 5.0% at Bank and Group level in FY-2025 (Bank, 3.5%, and Group, 5.2% in December 2024). Cost of Risk (COR) also improved to 2.2% from 4.9% in December 2024. In specific terms, the Group’s loan book (net) grew by 12.4% from 2.79trillion as of December 2024 to₦ 3.13trillion in December 2025. Similarly, deposit liabilities grew by 23.8% from 10.40trillion to 12.87trillion during₦ ₦ ₦ the same period.Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “Our 2025 result underscores the resilience and depth of our earnings capacity. Following a record 2024, which included significant fair value gains, our focus has been on strengthening the sustainability of our earnings by driving growth across our core banking and ecosystem businesses. The strength of our underlying earnings, despite a stronger Naira and tighter regulatory parameters, reflects the quality of our franchise and the discipline with which we execute our strategy. Importantly, this strong core earnings performance underpins our capacity to sustain and grow shareholder returns. Our record dividend payout this year is not only a reflection of our current profitability but also of our confidence in the Group’s long-term earnings potential. Looking ahead, we remain focused on scaling our ecosystem, driving innovation across our financial services platform, and delivering consistent, high-quality earnings that support superior value creation for our shareholders.”Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services Industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 28.3%, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 5.3%, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 43.8% and Cost to Income Ratio of 27.9%.Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc is a leading financial services group with operations across Africa and the United Kingdom. Renowned for its strong corporate governance, innovative financial solutions, and customer-centric approach, the Group provides a wide range of banking and non-banking services including payments, funds management, and pension fund administration. GTCO Plc is committed to delivering long-term value to stakeholders while driving growth and development across its markets.
brand
Zenith Bank and Ford Foundation Honour Unsung ‘Sheroes’ with Inaugural Woman of Power Award
![]()
On Saturday, March 28 2026, Zenith Bank held the climax of its month-long activities to commemorate March as women’s month. The event which held at The Civic Centre, was the second of such activity at the Centre, having held the International Women Day Seminar on the 9th of March, 2026. The event was to honour and give awards to exceptional women who have shown resilience in their communities with heir vocation impacting lives sustainably.Speakers after speakers eulogized Zenith Bank for its people-centred activities and appreciated the Ford Foundation for identifying the Bank as a worthy partner in its push to support women in their peculiar cultural and economic conditions across the world.Themed “Celebrating Resilience, Leadership, and Generosity” the award recognised 19 women who were selected from the six geo-political zones in trade, petty manufacturing, education, and agriculture. These women demonstrated extraordinary strength, leadership, and impact despite the significant challenges posed by the difficult economic situation in the country.According to the organisers, the initiative provided a platform to showcase unsung “Sheroes” — everyday women who are making meaningful contributions in their communities and fields. These include market women, small-scale business owners, community leaders, educators, healthcare workers, and many others whose vital roles often go unnoticed.The sponsors of the event noted that each awardee exhibited excellence in several key areas, including leadership and initiative, community impact, innovativeness and resourcefulness, perseverance, integrity, community trust, and philanthropy.Among those honoured were: Mrs Regina Amankulor, a retired nurse empowering young people in Umuode-Nsulu community, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Abia State; Mary Matanmi, Coordinator of the Nigeria Association of Hairdressers, Barbers and Cosmetologists, Lagos State chapter; Ifeanyi P. Ugwueze, a Guidance Counsellor and Life Coach who continues to thrive despite blindness and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree.
Others include: Amina Musa, a trade educator based in Karonmajiji, AMAC, Abuja; Adenike A. Lambo, the Iyaloja of Ilorin; Sadiya Abubakar, an educator in Jibi (Deidei), Bwari Area Council, FCT; Erikan Idem Andrew, a market woman with significant community impact in Port Harcourt; Ngozi B. Nwankpa, an Aba-based fashion designer; Hadiza Umar, a Development Specialist based in Kaduna, Kaduna State; Joy C. Ezenwa (aka Mama Amala), a trader at Sabon Gari Market, Kano; Shola Esther Babalola (Mama Sho), promoter of natural honey and founder of the Mama Sho Honey brand in Lagos; Josephine Ugwu, a staff member of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), honoured for her honesty in recovering and returning millions of naira mistakenly dropped by passengers at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. And many others.In her keynote address, the Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, who was represented by Executive Director, Adobi Nwapa, praised the awardees and reaffirmed the bank’s strong commitment to women’s empowerment. She noted that “Zenith Bank’s commitment to gender inclusion is not a rhetoric but one of the ethos that the bank holds very dearly”. In her words, she also said, “Zenith Bank has a 50-50 gender ratio with women occupying strategic positions in the bank’s management and Board up to the current Group Managing Director being the very first female to hold that position.The Regional Director of the Ford Foundation, Dr Chichi Aniagolu, described the Woman of Power Award as an eye-opener, noting that her team’s journey across the country revealed the vast and often overlooked facets of human potential among Nigerian women.Both the Ford Foundation and Zenith Bank Plc have pledged to sustain and grow the initiative in the coming years.Zenith Bank used the forum to notify the women of their various women-targeted products and initiatives, including the Z-Woman initiative, and the Bank’s 19-year sole sponsorship of the NBBF Women’s Basketball League; thus, further highlighting its position at the forefront of women empowerment and economic inclusion across the country.
![]()
brand
ZENITH BANK APPOINTS KENNEDY OKWUDILI AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
![]()
Zenith Bank Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Kennedy Onuwa Okwudili as an Executive Director of the bank effective May 1, 2026. The appointment, which is consistent with the bank’s tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within, will further strengthen the bank’s Executive Management.Mr. Okwudili graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Accounting in 1998 from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, with a Second Class Upper division. He obtained a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria in 2008 and a Masters of Science in Accounting from Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria in 2021.Mr. Okwudili has over twenty-five years of cognate banking experience spanning credit and marketing, treasury, compliance as well as operations and had at different times worked in various zones and departments of the bank. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), 2013, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), 2024 and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), 2016. He has attended several Executive Education Programmes both within and outside the country, including: Senior Leadership Development Programme at the Lagos Business School, Corporate Directorship Programme at the Harvard Business School and Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford, SAID Business School.He is currently the President of Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria (CBAN) and a member of the Noble Order of the Knights of St. John International (KSJI).
-
news5 years agoUPDATE: #ENDSARS: CCTV footage of Lekki shootings intact – Says Sanwo – Olu
-
lifestyle6 years agoFormer Miss World: Mixed reactions trail Agbani Darego’s looks
-
health5 years agoChairman Agege LG, Ganiyu Egunjobi Receives Covid-19 Vaccines
-
lifestyle5 years agoObateru: Celebrating a Quintessential PR Man at 60
-
health6 years agoUPDATE : Nigeria Records 790 new cases of COVID-19
-
health6 years agoBREAKING: Nigeria confirms 663 new cases of COVID-19
-
entertainment1 year agoAshny Set for Valentine Special and new Album ‘ Femme Fatale’
-
news11 months agoBREAKING: Tinubu swears in new NNPCL Board