Business
FIRST BANK: STILL STANDING GIDIGBA 125 YEARS AFTER
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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
Recapitalisation Without Transformation is a Risk Nigeria Cannot Afford
BY BLAISE UDUNZE
In barely two weeks, Nigeria’s banking sector will once again be at a historic turning point. As the deadline for the latest recapitalisation exercise approaches on March 31, 2026, with no fewer than 31 banks having met the new capital rule, leaving out two that are reportedly awaiting verification. As exercise progresses and draws to an end, policymakers are optimistic that stronger banks will anchor financial stability and support the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
The reform, driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, requires banks to significantly raise their capital thresholds, which are set at N500 billion for international banks, N200 billion for national banks, and N50 billion for regional lenders. According to the apex bank, 33 banks have already tapped the capital market through rights issues and public offerings; collectively, the total verified and approved capital raised by the banks amounts to N4.05 trillion.
No doubt, at first glance, the strategy definitely appears straightforward with the idea that bigger capital means stronger banks, and stronger banks should finance economic growth. But history offers a cautionary reminder that capital alone does not guarantee resilience, as it would be recalled that Nigeria has travelled this road before.
During the 2004-2005 consolidation led by former CBN Governor Charles Soludo, the number of banks in the country shrank dramatically from 89 to 25. The reform created larger institutions that were celebrated as national champions. The truth is that Nigeria has been here before because, despite all said and done, barely five years later, the banking system plunged into crisis, forcing regulatory intervention, bailouts, and the creation of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to absorb toxic assets.
The lesson from that experience is simple in the sense that recapitalisation without structural reform only postpones deeper problems.
Today, as banks race to meet the new capital thresholds, the real question is not how much capital has been raised but whether the reform will transform the fundamentals of Nigerian banking. The underlying fact is that if the exercise merely inflates balance sheets without addressing deeper vulnerabilities, Nigeria risks repeating a familiar cycle of apparent stability followed by systemic stress, as the resultant effect will be distressed banks less capable of bringing the economy out of the woods.
The real measure of success is far simpler. That is to say, stronger banks must stimulate economic productivity, stabilise the financial system, and expand access to credit for businesses and households. Anything less will amount to a missed opportunity.
One of the most critical issues surrounding the recapitalisation drive is the quality of the capital being raised.
Nigeria’s banking sector has reportedly secured more than N4.5 trillion in new capital commitments across different categories of banks. No doubt, on paper, these numbers may appear impressive. Going by the trends of events in Nigeria’s economy, numbers alone can be deceptive.
Past recapitalisation cycles revealed troubling practices, whereby funds raised through related-party transactions, borrowed money disguised as equity, or complex financial arrangements that recycled risks back into the banking system. If such practices resurface, recapitalisation becomes little more than an accounting exercise.
To avert a repeat of failure, the CBN must therefore ensure that every naira raised represents genuine, loss-absorbing capital. Transparency around capital sources, ownership structures, and funding arrangements must be non-negotiable. Without credible capital, balance sheet strength becomes an illusion that will make every recapitalization exercise futile.
In financial systems, credibility is itself a form of capital. If there is one recurring factor behind banking crises in Nigeria, it is corporate governance failure.
Many past collapses were not triggered by global shocks but by insider lending, weak board oversight, excessive executive power, and poor risk culture. Recapitalisation provides regulators with a rare opportunity to reset governance standards across the industry.
Boards must be independent not only in structure but also in substance. Risk committees must be empowered to challenge executive decisions. Insider lending rules must be enforced without compromise because, over the years, they have proven to be an anathema against the stability of the financial sector. The stakes are high.
When governance fails, fresh capital can quickly become fresh fuel for old excesses. Without governance reform, recapitalisation risks reinforcing the very weaknesses it seeks to eliminate.
Another structural vulnerability lies in Nigeria’s increasing amount of non-performing loans (NPLs), which recently caused the CBN to raise concerns, as Nigeria experiences a rise in bad loans threatening banking stability.
Industry data suggests that the banking sector’s NPL ratio has climbed above the prudential benchmark of 5 percent, reaching roughly 7 percent in recent assessments. Many of these troubled loans are concentrated in sectors such as oil and gas, power, and government-linked infrastructure projects, alongside other factors such as FX instability, high interest rates, and the withdrawal of Covid-era forbearance, which threaten bank stability.
While regulatory forbearance has helped maintain short-term stability, it has also obscured deeper asset-quality concerns. A credible recapitalisation process must confront this reality directly.
Loan classification standards must reflect economic truth rather than regulatory convenience. Banks should not carry impaired assets indefinitely while presenting healthy balance sheets to investors and depositors.
Transparency about asset quality strengthens trust. Concealment destroys it. Few forces have disrupted Nigerian bank balance sheets in recent years as severely as exchange-rate volatility.
Many banks still operate with significant foreign exchange mismatches, borrowing short-term in foreign currencies while lending long-term to clients earning revenues in naira. When the naira depreciates sharply, these mismatches can erode capital faster than any credit loss.
Recapitalisation must therefore be accompanied by stricter supervision of foreign exchange exposure, as this part calls for the regulator to heighten its supervision. Banks should be required to disclose currency risks more transparently and undergo rigorous stress testing at intervals that assume adverse currency scenarios rather than best-case outcomes. In a structurally import-dependent economy, ignoring FX risk is no longer an option.
Nigeria’s banking system has long been characterised by excessive concentration in a few sectors and corporate clients, which calls for adequate monitoring and the need to be addressed quickly for the recapitalization drive to yield maximum results.
Growth in most advanced economies comes from the small and medium-sized enterprises that are well-funded. Anything short of this undermines it, since the concentration of huge loans to large oil and gas companies, government-related entities, and major conglomerates absorbs a disproportionate share of bank lending. This has continued to pose a major threat to the system, as the case is with small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of job creation, which remain chronically underfinanced. This imbalance weakens the economy.
Recapitalisation should therefore be tied to policies that encourage credit diversification and risk-sharing mechanisms that allow banks to lend more confidently to productive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology rather than investing their funds into the government’s securities. Bigger banks that remain narrowly exposed do not strengthen the economy. They amplify its fragilities.
Nigeria’s macroeconomic conditions, which are its broad economic settings, are defined by frequent and sometimes sharp changes or instability rather than stability.
Inflation shocks, interest-rate swings, fiscal pressures, and currency adjustments are not rare disruptions; but they have now become a normal part of the economic environment. Despite all these adverse factors, many banks still operate risk models that assume relative stability. Perhaps unbeknownst to the stakeholders, this disconnect is dangerous.
Owing to possible shocks, and when banks increase their capital (recapitalization), it is required that banks adopt more sophisticated risk-management frameworks capable of withstanding severe economic scenarios, with the expectation that stronger banks should also have stronger systems to manage risks and survive economic crises. In Nigeria today, every financial institution’s stress testing must be performed in the face of the economy facing severe shocks like currency depreciation, sovereign debt pressures, and sudden interest-rate spikes.
Risk management should evolve from a compliance obligation into a strategic discipline embedded in every lending decision.
Public confidence in the banking system depends heavily on credible financial reporting.
Investors, analysts, and depositors need to be able to understand banks’ true financial positions without navigating non-transparent disclosures or creative accounting practices, which means the industry must be liberated to an extent that gives room for access to information.
Recapitalisation provides an opportunity to strengthen the enforcement of international financial reporting standards, enhance audit quality, and require clearer disclosure of capital adequacy, asset quality, and related-party transactions. Transparency should not be feared. It is the foundation of trust.
One thing that must be corrected is that while recapitalisation often focuses on financial metrics, the banking sector ultimately runs on human capital.
Another fearful aspect of this exercise for the economy is that consolidation and mergers triggered by the reform could lead to workforce disruptions if not carefully managed. Job losses, casualisation, and declining staff morale can weaken institutional culture and productivity. Strong banks are built by strong people.
If recapitalisation strengthens balance sheets while destabilising the workforce that powers the system, the reform risks undermining its own economic objectives. Human capital stability must therefore form part of the broader reform strategy.
Doubtless, another emerging shift in Nigeria’s financial landscape is the rise of digital financial platforms that are increasingly changing how people access and use money in Nigeria.
Millions of Nigerians are increasingly relying on fintech platforms for payments, microloans, and everyday financial transactions. One of the advantages it offers, is that these services often deliver faster and more user-friendly experiences than traditional banks. While innovation is welcome, it raises important questions about the future structure of financial intermediation.
The point here is that the moment traditional banks retreat from retail banking while fintech platforms dominate customer interactions, systemic liquidity and regulatory oversight could become fragmented.
The CBN must see to it that the recapitalised banks must therefore invest aggressively in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and customer experience, while cutting down costs on all less critical areas in the industry.
Nigerians should feel the benefits of recapitalisation not only in stronger balance sheets but also in faster apps, reliable payment systems, and responsive customer service.
As banks grow larger through recapitalisation and consolidation, a new challenge emerges via systemic concentration.
Nigeria’s largest banks already control a significant share of industry assets. Further consolidation could deepen the divide between dominant institutions and smaller players. This creates the risk of “too-big-to-fail” banks whose collapse could threaten the entire financial system.
To address this risk, regulators must strengthen resolution frameworks that allow distressed banks to fail without triggering systemic panic, their collapse does not damage the whole financial system, and do not require taxpayer-funded bailouts to forestall similar mistakes that occurred with the liquidation of Heritage Bank. Market discipline depends on credible failure mechanisms.
It must be understood that Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation is not merely a financial exercise or, better still, increasing banks’ capital. It is a rare opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen governance, and reposition the financial system as a true engine of economic development.
One fact is that if the reform focuses only on capital numbers, the country risks repeating a familiar pattern of churning out impressive balance sheets followed by another cycle of crisis.
But the actors in this exercise must ensure that the recapitalisation addresses governance failures, asset quality concerns, risk management weaknesses, and transparency gaps; and the moment this is done, the banking sector could emerge stronger and more resilient.
Nigeria does not simply need bigger banks. It needs better banks, institutions capable of financing innovation, supporting entrepreneurs, and building economic opportunity for millions of citizens.
The true capital of any banking system is not just money. It is trust. And whether this recapitalisation ultimately succeeds will depend on whether Nigerians see that trust reflected not only in financial statements but in the everyday experience of saving, borrowing, and investing in the economy. Only then will bigger banks translate into a stronger nation.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
FirstBank Makes Home Ownership Possible for Nigerians with Single-Digit Interest Rate Loan
For millions of Nigerians, homeownership has long felt like an ambition deferred. Squeezed by rising property prices, persistent double-digit inflation and high commercial lending rates, the dream of owning a home has remained just that – a dream.
But that narrative is quietly changing. Thanks to FirstBank.
The N1 Trillion Intervention Reshaping Access
In partnership with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), FirstBank has unveiled a mortgage opportunity that could redefine access to housing finance in Nigeria.
Backed by the Federal Government’s N1trillion mortgage fund, the initiative is designed to empower Nigerians with affordable, long-term credit to own their homes.
9.75% Interest Rate in a 30% Lending Environment
MREIF is priced at 9.75% per annum, dramatically lower than prevailing commercial loan rates. Eligible Nigerians can access up to N100 million and repay within 20 years. This translates into significantly more manageable monthly repayments and greater long-term financial stability.
Built for Salary Earners, Entrepreneurs and the Diaspora
The MREIF mortgage facility has been structured to be inclusive. It is available to salary account holders, business owners and diaspora customers. Whether you are a young professional aiming to exit the rent cycle, an entrepreneur building generational stability, or you’re a Nigerian abroad looking to secure assets locally, the product opens a pathway that has historically been out of reach for many.
Taking the First Step
For those who have been waiting for the right time, this is definitely it. The question is no longer whether homeownership is possible. The real question is: will you act before the window narrows?
Visit https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/personal/loans/mreif-home-loan/ and in no time you could be the latest homeowner in town.
Alpha Morgan Bank Deepens Presence in Abuja with New Branch in Utako
Marking another milestone in its expansion drive, Alpha Morgan Bank has opened a new branch in Utako, Abuja, reinforcing its strategy of building closer institutional ties within key business communities and bringing its financial expertise closer to individuals, and enterprises driving the city’s growth.
The new branch, located at Plot 1121 Obafemi Awolowo Way, Utako, Abuja is strategically positioned to serve individuals, entrepreneurs, and corporate clients within Utako and surrounding districts.
The expansion follows the Bank’s recently concluded Economic Review Webinar held in February 2026, as the bank continues to position as a thought-leader in the financial services industry.
Speaking on the opening, Ade Buraimo, Managing Director of Alpha Morgan Bank, said the move underscores the Bank’s commitment to accessibility and service excellence.
“Proximity matters in banking. As communities grow and commercial activity expands, financial institutions also evolve to meet customers where they are. The Utako Branch allows us to deliver our services to people in that community efficiently while maintaining the high standards our customers expect,”
The Utako location will provide a full suite of retail and corporate banking services, including account opening, deposits, transfers, business banking solutions, and financial advisory support.
Customers and members of the public are invited to visit the new Utako Branch to experience the Bank’s approach to satisfying banking.
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