Samuel Adesola
First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Nigeria’s premier financial institution and financial inclusion services provider, has emerged the winner of two awards: Best SME Bank in Africa and Best SME Bank in Nigeria at the internationally reputed Asian Banker Global Excellence Retail Awards 2024.
Excellence in Retail Finance Awards Programme, which includes the Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards and The Annual Digital Bank Awards, are the most established awards which recognise exceptional innovation, leadership, management, and performance in the financial sector.
FBN’s full suite of solutions across its franchise serving the needs of medium and small enterprises in regard to core financial needs and offering flexible financing options across the entire lifecycle needs of customer’s business, earned the 130-year-old financial institution these two awards.
The Asian Banker’s Strategic Business Intelligence for the Financial Services Community stated, “FirstBank demonstrated exceptional performance, notably in its SME sector, by achieving more than 100% revenue growth while maintaining a reduced cost-to-income ratio of 16.5%. Small and medium-sized enterprises contributed 26% of overall bank revenue. Furthermore, the institution’s SME customer base grew by 7%, reaching a total of more than one million. For its significant growth in the SME business, the award for Best SME Bank in Nigeria and in Africa goes to FirstBank.
“FirstBank supports its customers by providing exceptional value proposition around each industry sectors, digital innovation of the bank’s processes and financing options, and a strong relationship banking approach to create best in class customer engagement. The Bank’s integrated platform not only help businesses grow and reduce operational costs but also facilitates expansion into regional and overseas markets through its Sub-Saharan Africa subsidiaries.”
FBN’s Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Ms. Folake Ani-Mumuney, while expressing her delight at the Bank’s feat, said, “We thank the Asian Banker Awards for the recognition and dedicate these awards to our esteemed SME customers that have progressively impacted the socio-economic growth of not just Nigeria but also the African continent given their critical role as the engine of any economy.
“For 130 years, FirstBank has continued to enable the giants in our customers, including our SMEs as well as other stakeholders, and we remain committed to delivering the ultimate ‘gold standard’ of value and excellence.”
FBN has continued to added awards to its kitty and the recent ones include ‘Best Private Bank in Nigeria’ and Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investment in Africa’ by Global Finance.
These awards were given for FBN’s exceptional leadership in integrating sustainable practices into its banking operations.
