Foremost Financial institution with international fame and Nigeria’s premier and leading financial services provider, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has indeed lived up to its mantra, and has put its customers first, in its fight against Covid-19.
With COVID-19 causing unforeseen disruption to well laid out plans for the year, FirstBank reassured its esteemed customers how much of their interests it would not renege in serving. The financial service provider has been actively monitoring developments globally and locally around COVID-19 and in the process it optimized its digital banking channels to cater for more transactions.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion bank for over 125 years. With over 750 business locations and 44,000 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 15 million customers. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been nimble at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such milestone in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 8.5million people on its USSD banking service through the nationally renowned *894# banking service and over 3 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. For safety purposes, First bank urged its customers to embrace cashless transactions across our self-service platforms like our USSD string *894#; our mobile banking app, FirstMobile and our online banking service, FirstOnline; for needs ranging from funds transfer to bill payments to airtime and data recharge.
However, the trying times never stopped FBN from reaching out to its customers. The bank’s one-minute loan product, FirstAdvance, gives up to 50% of a customer’s monthly income. This is part of the measures the bank put in place to cushion the effects of covid-19 on its customers. In the wake of the pandemic, First Bank was one of the most prepared banks, that was ready to provide essential Banking services through its alternative channels to its customers and the public at large which is in line with its robust Business Continuity Plan.
The bank deployed necessary measures to keep its employees, customers and the general public safe-guarded and sensitised on preventive steps to flatten the curve at the fastest possible rate. These include the deployment of temperature measuring tools; hand sanitisers; face masks and adopting social distancing including utilizing virtual meetings. It cancelled owned and partnered planned events in the interim; suspended staff travels and put measures in place to identify and communicate to staff who are arriving from affected countries to self-quarantine following the established protocols by the World Health Organisation and the government.
First Bank is one of the few banks who amplified all necessary official information from relevant health bodies and partners encouraging everyone to adhere to good hygiene practices which comprise regular cleaning of all surface areas.
In March 2020, FirstBank announced its donation of the sum of N1bn towards the joint effort by the Nigerian Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) to rapidly expand the health facilities; especially Testing, Isolation, treatment and the provision of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facilities pivotal to controlling the spread and importantly, treating individuals diagnosed with COVID- 19.
This was in addition to the Bank’s drive to move one million children to e-learning, together with an early partner – Roducate – as recommended by the Ministry of Education, Lagos State. The bank made an earlier provision for e-learning facilities to enable children learn online while at home due to the virus.
The Bank, under the leadership of its Managing Director, Dr. Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan has also continued to look at all areas of intervention where its business infrastructure, reach, digital platforms and other natural strengths lie and deploy to further support all efforts for Nigerians; young and old alike.
Its educational support plan, named FBN Education Endowment Plan is a goal-based investment management solution that helps parents/guardians save for their children’s education and ensure continuity of their education by providing added benefits such as Insurance and Trust. The plan also provides an element of protection should a risk event occur in the investor’s life. This is achieved by combining our investment management expertise with insurance and trusteeship.
This plan is managed by FBNQuest Asset Management, FBNQuest Trustees and FBN Insurance for ease of children to good and quality education. Another educational solution – FirstEdu – is specifically designed to enhance the educational facilities in schools. The FirstEdu product includes FirstEdu loan and FirstEdu portal.
The loan is targeted at private Nursery & Primary and Secondary schools to assist the schools in achieving their desired growth in the medium and long-term. The product provides funding to replace old furniture and equipment, pay staff salaries, purchase brand new or fairly-used buses as well as refurbish dilapidated buildings and classroom blocks. With this product, school owners/proprietors can stay ahead of competition at all times.
These are astonishing plans put in place by the foremost financial institution to ease the stress of coronavirus off many.
