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FIRST BANK: STILL STANDING GIDIGBA 125 YEARS AFTER

Published

7 years ago

March 26, 2019

BY ALEX OTTI

This week marks the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the existence of the First Bank franchise in Nigeria. This stands the bank out as one of the earliest institutions established in West Africa, and obviously, one of the handful still in existence today. The bank began as the Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) in 1894 and quickly began playing the role of the Central Bank of British West Africa in the absence of a regulator at those medieval times in the sub region. The bank witnessed the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates and the eventual independence of Nigeria in 1960. It was founded by Alfred Lewis Jones, a shipping magnate who imported silver currency into West Africa through Elder Dempster shipping company also owned by him. In 1957, the bank changed its name to Bank of West Africa (BWA). Sequel to Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the bank began to extend more credit to indigenous Nigerians as most of its credit facilities were hitherto concentrated on foreigners living in the erstwhile colony. Standard Bank acquired the Bank of West Africa in 1966 and changed its name to Standard Bank of West Africa. In 1969, Standard Bank of West Africa incorporated its Nigerian operations and its name had to change once again, this time to Standard Bank of Nigeria Ltd (SBN). In 1971, SBN listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and placed 13% of its share capital with Nigerian investors. Following the implementation of the indigenisation policy of the then military government soon after the civil war, Standard Chartered Bank reduced its stake in SBN to 38%. This action led to another change in name to First Bank of Nigeria in 1979 as Standard Chartered Bank insisted that since it had lost majority control, the bank should no longer bear its name since by the action, it had failed to be its full fledged subsidiary. This marked a watershed in the history of the bank as more Nigerians were appointed to the board and it began to look and operate more like a Nigerian bank. The bank had subsequently moved from a limited liability company to a publicly quoted company and back to a limited liability company which it presently is. The latest status is in compliance with changes in the regulatory environment in 2012 that required that the group operates as a holding company, with the bank as one of its subsidiaries or spin off other operations not related to banking. That marked the birth of FBN Holdings which presently has the bank and non bank subsidiaries as part of the group.

In 1982, First Bank opened a branch in London and converted same to a full fledged subsidiary, FBN Bank (UK) in 2002. Two years later, in 2004, a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa, debuted. At the moment, First Bank has subsidiaries or representative offices in France, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea and Senegal. At the last count, First Bank had presence across 10 countries in three continents. It operates from over 750 locations and employs close to 22,000 people. Its has over N3.3trillion in total assets. It also boasts over N2.5trillion in Customer deposits with a tidy 19% Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). The bank has over 1.3m shareholders and over 14million customers.   Before going further, I must, in the full disclosure tradition of this column, declare that I joined First Bank as an Assistant General Manager on April 1, 2001 and left 10 years after, having risen to the position of Executive Director in 2011. I joined as part of the transformation team of the bank set up following a decision to institute comprehensive reforms in the bank. The project, titled, “Century 2, the New Frontier” effected a total change in the way things were done in the bank. Readers will realize, in the course of this essay, that a major part of the resilience and longevity of the bank has to do with its ability to keep pace with changes, not just in the banking ecosystem, but the global environment.
It is pertinent to note that so many institutions and companies disappear after only a few years of existence and therefore, there must be some distinguishing characteristics that have made First Bank, not only to survive but to excel in the last one decade and a quarter. I will attempt to share my own thoughts on this, which would definitely not be exhaustive.
One thing that stands the bank out is that everything it does is woven around strategy. In my days at the institution, and I believe it should still be the same now, the bank will start a year with long board and management strategy sessions. These comprise long and short term strategies. The long term strategies normally have a horizon of 5 years while the short term ones are normally between one and three years. I am sure some people, particularly in other environments, will argue that 5-year strategies would be at best described as medium term, but the truth is that in the Nigerian market, 5 years is even too long given how rapidly things change here! Organizations succeed and fail on strategy. The profound saying that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail fits in perfectly here. It is also said that when you are not certain about where you are going, any road takes you there. Having a clear strategy is one thing, achieving flawless execution is another.     I am aware of organisations that are very long on plans and short on implementation. On this, you must give it to First Bank as it is also very good on monitoring and measurement. It is a known fact that what doesn’t get measured, hardly gets done. So, to execute, you must have measurement tools and put in place, a system that not only rewards good performance but also poor performance. I can still remember our strategy sessions as we joined in 2011, where the then CEO, Mr. Bernard Longe reeled out the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) of “being twice as large as the second largest bank in Nigeria by a defined future date”. Yes, the bank may not have achieved that goal within the timeframe, but it did have a goal and it did work towards that goal. It is in strategy that you define who you want to be, who you want to serve, how you want to serve them and what distinguishes you from the “guy down the road”. Once you have those agreed, the tools and the people must also be addressed. I have seen situations where management disbands a strategy put in place by the organisation only to replace it with a weak strategy or none at all and in consequence end up as lunch for competition. First Bank is noted for its very strong corporate governance regime. I believe this is at the heart of the longevity of the bank. In our days and I believe it is the same till today, there are things you simply could not do irrespective of who you were. Just like any organsation, the bank had a soul, meaning the key board members who called the shots. But every decision had to go through a process. Having survived over a long period of time, most things were documented and rules were strictly adhered to. I recall that even loan applications from viable businesses of shareholders of the bank must not only be disclosed, but must go through rigorous processes before they were approved. And with the Risk Management function under very experienced professionals with the brilliant Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was later to become CEO of the bank and six months later, the CBN Governor and currently the Emir of Kano, you couldn’t go round the process. By the way, it will not be out of place to mention that I was appointed an Executive Director the same day, September 4, 2005 with HRH Sanusi who had joined from UBA. Others appointed same day with us were Oladele Oyelola, Remi Babalola who went on to become Minister of State For Finance, and Mrs Bola Adesola, the current CEO of Standard Chartered Bank. We joined the only surviving executive director from the regime before ours, Mr. John Aboh, who is the current Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria and the then CEO of the bank, Mr. Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe.   As we were appointed, we were handed over a merger and acquisition deal, (some called it outright takeover bid) with another bank with footprints in some other African countries. The deal looked good on the surface, but some of us saw danger in the whole transaction as proposed. We struggled with that transaction for close to two years before resting it. Even though there was very strong support for the deal from some influential shareholders, management thought it was not going to create value for First Bank and therefore had to let it die a natural death. Yours truly had argued then that based on “back of the envelope analysis”, over 60% of mergers and acquisition destroy shareholder value. This my held position was to be corroborated by the Harvard Business Review Report in 2015 which stated that between 70% and 90% of mergers and acquisition destroy shareholder value and in fact fail. The reasons for failure are fully documented in the literature. One is glad that we still have the foremost Nigerian bank with us today celebrating its 125 years anniversary as some of us are persuaded that the situation would not have been the same if that deal went through. On this note, permit me to acknowledge the resilience of Mr. Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe who showed strength of character as the buck naturally stopped on his table.   One of the lessons to learn from the First Bank story is its ability to adapt to changing situations in the environment. For an organisation to adapt, it must understand the environment and be able to read changes and sometimes predict them, even before they happen. The reality is that human beings will normally gravitate around their comfort zones and oftentimes, become very resistant to change. It is only an organisation that constantly interrogates the status quo that will be able to adapt to changes or even lead the change itself. In our time, we realized that we had what our Human Capital Management department referred to an “aging workforce”. Like Clinton would say about Senator Dole, “we did not have a problem with their age, but with the age of their ideas”. The bank started a workforce renewal strategy which saw to the entry of young people with fresh ideas who could relate to the youthful population who were basically in control of the “new money”.   To attract them, one needed people that not only looked like them but also reasoned like them. An age band was approved by management for different levels in the staff cadre. This tilted the average age of staff down significantly. Younger people were selected to replace those retiring on account of age. Technology was massively deployed as part of strategy. Service delivery, which was measured by external consultants, spiked in the positive direction. The bank was able to compete with smaller and younger banks, giving them a run for their money.    The brand equity is an important part of any organisation, more so a bank. First Bank benefited so much from its brand. Because some banks had come and gone and bank failures has not ceased even at this moment, the bank benefitted from its longevity. Some people joke about dead people’s money being warehoused in the bank. Besides, what the brand represents is also the conscious effort at tweaking the brand to be in tune with modernity, of course without doing away with the reassuring effect of the ‘elephant’. I remember with nostalgia, the first strategy session we attended in Gateway Hotel, Otta in 2001, a new colleague, had proposed that the bank should do away with the elephant as the animal is not known to be smart, fast and efficient. We were all shocked at the response he got. Virtually everyone, except those of them that were new, charged at him, in the manner of the elephant he wanted removed. That was the last time he made that kind of suggestion. It was considered a heresy to remove the elephant. The rest of the people that mustered courage to speak about the elephant talked about how to make it nimble, how to face it forward rather than backwards, how to get the elephant to raise one of its legs and generally how it would reflect efficiency in strength.
Finally, I have always maintained that an organisation cannot be better than its people.    First Bank has built a culture of employing very sound and good people. The recruitment process is excellent and gives little or no room for manipulation. The reward system ensures that the best people stay and misfits are gradually eased out. The compensation system remains competitive from what I hear and positions at the top are tenured such that the CEO and Executive Directors must retire after a maximum of two tenures of 3 years each. This policy makes it difficult for people to sit tight at those levels and also keeps the top open for deserving younger people to aspire. It is my sincere hope and belief that these time-honoured traditions of First Bank endure.

Let me therefore join millions of Nigerians to congratulate First Bank on this 125th Anniversary celebration and wish the Board, Management, Staff, Shareholders and Customers well. Of course, I pray for the continued sense of camaraderie that exists among the ex-staff of First Bank

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ZENITH BANK’S 10TH INTERNATIONAL TRADE SEMINAR SETS OUT STRATEGIES TO SCALE NIGERIA’S NON-OIL EXPORTS

Published

4 days ago

August 26, 2026

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Zenith Bank Plc hosted the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, marking a decade of sustained advocacy for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. The virtual event brought together policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and development partners from across Africa and beyond, all focused on one question: how Nigeria can earn more from what it sells to the world.

Held under the theme “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth”, the seminar examined how Nigeria can move beyond exporting raw commodities to building competitive value chains, strengthening trade infrastructure and financing, and deepening the sector’s contribution to sustainable economic growth.

In her welcome address, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, paid tribute to the Bank’s Founder, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, whose vision gave birth to the seminar in 2015, and urged participants to turn Nigeria’s improving export numbers into lasting economic value.

In her words: “Our theme, ‘Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth’, is not just a slogan. It speaks to the opportunities before us and the need to translate our collective efforts into sustainable economic value. According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached a record $6.1 billion in 2025, up 11.5 per cent from the $5.46 billion recorded in 2024, and a remarkable leap from the $612 million recorded a decade earlier. Through our partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, we have commenced the development of the SMARTAfCFTA portal, and our integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is making cross-border business easier for our customers. Wherever our exporters need to reach, Zenith Bank will reach with them.”

She commended His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the structural reforms creating a more enabling environment for businesses, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, for reforms that have improved foreign exchange stability and market confidence. “As we build on the progress recorded so far,” she added, “it is important that, as a nation, we accelerate growth by creating more value locally and exporting finished products, rather than just raw materials.”

Delivering the keynote address, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, MFR, called for deeper trade and investment reforms, a better export environment and wider market access within Africa and beyond. “The question before us now is not simply how to export more, but how to retain more value in Nigeria from everything we export,” she said. “Our focus at the Ministry is straightforward: produce more competitively in Nigeria, process more in Nigeria, connect Nigerian businesses to bigger markets, and ensure that the financing, infrastructure and trade systems exist to help them scale. In July, I assumed the chair of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers, and I see at first hand that the opportunity before us goes beyond the size of the African market of over 1.4 billion people and approximately $3.4 trillion in GDP. It is about enabling Nigerian firms to sell more products, reach more markets and deepen regional value chains. Nigeria’s role as an AfCFTA digital trade co-champion further positions us to help shape how this market evolves, particularly as digital trade creates new pathways for Nigerian businesses to reach customers across the continent.” She urged financial institutions to go beyond financing export transactions to financing export capability, and encouraged Nigerian businesses to prepare for intra-African trade by investing in productivity, quality and skills.

In his presentation, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) and immediate past President/Chairman of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, GCON, argued that the moment demands new thinking. “The theme chosen for this 10th edition is both apt and timely,” he said. “The global economy is experiencing unprecedented levels of entropy. I do not raise this to alarm us. I raise it because a unique opportunity lies ahead of us that may well pave the way to Africa’s ascendance. The question is no longer whether Africa can attract enough external capital and external demand to power its growth. The question is whether Africa, and Nigeria within it, can build her own internal demand, participate effectively in global supply chains, build the capacity to finance her own trade and industries, and create her own markets.” He commended Zenith Bank and its leadership for advancing Nigeria’s non-oil export agenda over the past decade.

The Founder and Executive Chair of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby, made the case for transformation plainly. “Let us make no mistake: the future of our economy will not be determined simply by what we grow or what we mine, but by what we transform,” she said. “We need to move from being suppliers of raw materials to becoming producers, processors, manufacturers, exporters and owners of strong African brands. Our focus should be on creating more value before our products leave our shores.”

Speaking on the Nigeria-United Kingdom trade relationship, the UK Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. Florence Eshalomi, MP, represented by Ms Mujina Kaindama, Head of Trade Policy for UK Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, commended the Bank for the platform. “The trade relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria is one of immense importance and even greater potential,” she said. “Nigeria is home to extraordinary entrepreneurial talent, innovation and creativity. One of the most promising opportunities lies not simply in increasing exports, but in increasing the value of those exports: moving further up the value chain, processing raw materials, developing branded products and creating higher-value manufactured and agricultural goods. In doing so, Nigerian businesses can unlock greater returns, create jobs and build sustainable economic growth.”

The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, placed the private sector at the centre of the continent’s economic restructuring. “The private sector is at the heart of the fundamental restructuring of Africa’s economy that all of us want to see,” he said, “and the seminar Zenith Bank has convened strikes at the heart of that objective: reducing the reliance of exports on unprocessed commodities and accelerating industrialisation and value addition in Africa. The success of the AfCFTA will ultimately be measured not by how many protocols and legal instruments have been signed, but by the extent to which our private sector can leverage the AfCFTA to access new markets, scale their investment and scale their productive capacity to create jobs across the continent.”

The seminar featured two panel sessions. The public sector panel brought together Mr Abubakar Bello, Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), represented by Mr Hope Nyongo, Technical Adviser; Mr Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service; Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Ports Authority, represented by Mr Adebowale Lawal, Ports Manager, Lagos Ports Complex; Ms Aderinola Shonekan, Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria; Mrs Nonye Ayeni, Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; and Mr Adekunle Ajai, General Manager, Neroli Technologies. The panellists committed to improving trade facilitation, customs efficiency, logistics reform, trade advocacy and exporters’ access to funding.

The private sector panel featured Alhaji Adeniji Adeyemi, MD/CEO of Starlink Global & Ideal Limited; Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki, Group Executive Director, International Trade and Export, Dangote Group; Mr Bamidele Ayemibo, Senior Consultant, 3T Impex Trade Centre; Mr Mobolaji Salako, Managing Director, Terra Aqua Environmental Consultancy Nigeria Limited; Mr Ramzi Taher, Managing Director, RMM Global Company Limited; Mrs Oluyemisi Iranloye, Founder/Managing Director, Psaltry International; and Chief (Mrs) Chinwe Ezenwa, MD/CEO, Lelook Nigeria Limited. Their discussions centred on trade barriers, value creation and addition, competitiveness, product certification, market intelligence and the structured financing needed to scale non-oil exports.

The Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export was launched in 2015 to drive dialogue and action around Nigeria’s non-oil export potential. Ten years on, the Bank continues to champion the sector’s growth by opening up market opportunities and backing exporters with financing, incentives and practical support.

The 2026 edition streamed live on Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok, drawing thousands of participants from 97 countries. The tenth edition closed the way the first began a decade ago: with a commitment to give Nigerian businesses the tools, partnerships and capital they need to compete in regional and global markets.

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ZENITH BANK TO BRING GLOBAL TRADE LEADERS TOGETHER AT 10TH INTERNATIONAL TRADE SEMINAR ON NON-OIL EXPORTS

Published

2 weeks ago

August 18, 2026

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Zenith Bank Plc will host the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, bringing together leading policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and other key stakeholders to explore practical strategies for unlocking value and accelerating growth in Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.

Themed “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth in Non-Oil Export”, the virtual seminar will examine how Nigeria can move beyond exporting raw commodities to build globally competitive value chains, expand market access, strengthen trade infrastructure and financing, and deepen the contribution of non-oil exports to sustainable economic growth.

The high-level event will feature an impressive line-up of guest speakers, including the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene; the Chief Executive Officer of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby; and the immediate past President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah.

The seminar will also convene leading voices from the public and private sectors in two panel discussions. The first panel, dedicated to public sector perspectives, will bring together key stakeholders driving Nigeria’s trade, export, investment and economic development agenda. It will feature the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank), Mr Abba Bello; the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi; the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Ms Aderinola Shonekan; the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mrs Aisha Rimi; and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs Nonye Ayeni.

The second panel, focused on private sector perspectives, will feature the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Starlink Global & Ideal Limited, Alhaji Adeniji Adeyemi; the Group Executive Director, Dangote Group, Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki; Senior Consultant at 3T Impex Trade Centre, Mr Bamidele Ayemibo; the Managing Director of Terra Aqua Environmental Consultancy Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Mobolaji Salako; the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of RMM Global, Mr Ramzi Taher; and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Lelook Nigeria Limited, Chief Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa.

The discussions will offer practical perspectives on trade facilitation, export financing, customs and port efficiency, regulation, market access, and the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses in regional and global markets.

A key focus of the seminar will be the African Continental Free Trade Area and its potential to open up a larger market for Nigerian goods and services while deepening intra-African trade. With the AfCFTA offering businesses access to a market of more than one billion people, the discussions will examine how Nigerian enterprises can leverage regional integration, build competitive value chains and seize emerging opportunities across the continent.

Zenith Bank has consistently championed conversations around trade and economic development. It remains at the forefront of efforts to support businesses seeking to participate more effectively in regional and international commerce. The Bank has also partnered with the AfCFTA Secretariat on initiatives to facilitate cross-border trade and expand access to opportunities across Africa.

Now in its 10th edition, the Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar has evolved into a leading platform for high-level dialogue on Nigeria’s trade and export ecosystem. Over the years, the seminar has brought together government, regulators, businesses, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to examine emerging trends, identify challenges, and proffer practical solutions to strengthen Nigeria’s position in global commerce.

The 2026 edition will build on this legacy, convening some of the most influential voices shaping Nigeria’s trade, investment and economic landscape around one critical question: how can Nigeria unlock greater value from its non-oil exports and translate its vast productive potential into sustainable economic growth?

The seminar will be held virtually and streamed live on Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok, enabling participants in Nigeria and around the world to join the conversation. Interested participants can register at www.zenithbank.com/exportsem

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Sterling Financial Grows H1 2026 Profit 20% … Balance Sheet Nears ₦5 Trillion

Published

1 month ago

July 30, 2026

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Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc (“St Financial” or “the Group”) today released its unaudited results for the half-year ended 30 June 2026, posting broad-based growth across key performance indices.

The Group’s gross earnings rose 31.5% to ₦279.6 billion over the corresponding period in 2025, led by a 33.7% jump in interest income to ₦223.6 billion as the loan book expanded and asset yields improved. Net interest income climbed 41.0% to ₦137.4 billion, while non-interest income grew by 23.3% to ₦56.0 billion, supported by notable increases in fee income and other operating income lines.

Sterling Financial continued to strengthen its balance sheet with total assets expanding by 19.3% to ₦4.67 trillion, supported by a 21.1% growth in customer deposits to ₦3.62 trillion and disciplined expansion in the loan portfolio. The Group’s profit before tax (PBT) rose 21.9% to ₦55.5 billion while profit after tax (PAT) rose 20.4% to ₦50.3 billion.

Return on average equity stood at 20.6% and return on average assets improved to 2.35% from 2.05%.

Sterling Financial’s shareholders’ funds increased 27.8% to ₦547.7 billion in the period under review, primarily reflecting the ₦96.6 billion raised through a public offer of 13.8 billion ordinary shares. The Group’s share price has also appreciated over 15% from its year-opening position, reflecting renewed investor interest in the franchise ahead of the results release. Basic earnings per share stood at 77 kobo, reflecting the enlarged share base following the public offer.

The Group’s performance is anchored by its ongoing modernisation of its technology stack and operating model across its commercial (Sterling Bank), non-interest (AltBank), and wealth management (SterlingFI) arms. That work is showing up in faster service turnaround, tighter unit economics, and greater headroom to absorb rising customer activity without loosening the Group’s risk posture.

The combination of a reinforced capital base, expanding deposit franchise, and broader earnings mix leaves Sterling Financial positioned to compound growth in the second half of the year, channelling capital where it earns most and continuing to lend into the real economy.

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