First Bank Refutes Spurious Allegation Made By A Debtor

LAGOS – The Premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 128 years, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank), has said that its attention has been drawn to a sponsored sensational report by some online publications on a charge brought against the Bank.

According to an OFFICIAL STATEMENT made available to StarTrend Int’l magazine and online – www.startrendinternational.com by the Bank, the statement reads in part:

“Our attention has been drawn to a sponsored sensational report by some online publications on a charge brought against the Bank.

While we will not be able to offer further comments as the matter is sub-judice, suffice it to say that the basis of the charge is a spurious allegation made by a delinquent debtor with the intention of embarrassing the Bank and tainting the Bank’s loan recovery efforts and legal enforcement of its security collateral interest in accordance with the terms thereof.

We wish to assure our numerous customers, stakeholders and the general public that FirstBank operates by the highest standards of ethical conduct and will under no circumstances involve itself in any act of illegality just as it will take necessary legal steps to check any attempt by recalcitrant debtors to fritter away depositors’ funds under its custody.

Furthermore, FirstBank remains focused on its mission of providing the best financial services to its numerous customers.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 128 years.

With over 750 business locations and over 200,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 30 million customers.

The Bank has an international presence with subsidiaries operating in 9 other countries. These subsidiaries are FBNBank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, FBNBank in Ghana, FBNBank in the Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank in Sierra-Leone and FBNBank Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing, China.

The Bank has been handy at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 12million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in the country.

FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 12million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 4.5 million people on FirstMobile platform.

Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership.

Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes.

With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.

FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years.

The Bank’s brand purpose is always to put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of its business, even as it standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with its brand vision “To be the partner of the first choice in building your future”.

FirstBank’s brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.