Adeduntan resigned his appointment with the front-line bank eight months before  the expiration of his tenure.

However, Techeconomy gathered from the supposed letter written to Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale, the chairman of First Bank, the reasons for his resignation.

The letter titled, reads ‘Notice of Retirement,’ the bank CEO whose tenure ought to elapse on December 31, 2024, voluntarily decided to step down.

He would commence his retirement leave with immediate effect.

“As you are aware, my contract would be expiring on 31 December, 2024, after which I would no longer be eligible for employment within the bank having served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank for a record time of nine years.

“During this period the bank and its subsidiaries has undergone significant changes and broken new grounds. We have repositioned the institution as an enviable financial giant in Africa. I have however decided to proceed on retirement with effect from 20 April, 2024, to pursue other interests.

“I am eternally grateful to the board of directors of First Bank and FBN Holdings Plc for the support that I received from them during my stewardship. I wish our iconic institution continue success and progress as we move into the next phase of its evolution. Warm regards.”

Recall that the bank’s chief who was retired in 2021, by the then board of the financial institution, was reinstated few days after by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Since his appointment as MD/CEO, Adeduntan has contributed significantly towards the transformation of the financial institution and made it attractive to every strata of the society. From an institution that used to be perceived as an old-generation bank, First Bank’s perception has improved significantly.

A peep into Adedutan’s career in banking and finance spanning more than three decades earned him various recognitions and awards.

He holds a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa and an MBA from Cranfield University, United Kingdom which he attended as a Chevening Scholar, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) awarded by the University of Ibadan.

He has attended various executive and leadership programmes at Harvard Business School (USA), Wharton School (USA), London Business School (UK), IESE (Spain), University of Oxford (UK), University of Cambridge (UK), CEIBS (China) and INSEAD (France).

He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Dr. Adeduntan resigned from his role eight months before the expiration of his tenure as the First Bank MD. 

Meanwhile, First Bank Holdings Plc has cancelled its extraordinary general meeting amidst the resignation of the Managing Director.

The bank had scheduled an Extraordinary meeting aimed at raising N300bn capital.

The bank disclosed its decision in a filing on Friday.

FBN said, “the Extraordinary General Meeting of the members of FBN Holdings Plc, earlier scheduled to be held virtually on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 10 a.m for the consideration and authorization of the Company to undertake a Capital raise of up to N300,000,000.00 and other ancillary matters is hereby cancelled.”

The decision is coming the same day the MD of the FBNH announced his retirement.

The move comes in response to recent reports emphasizing the installation of a robot representative to assist customers in the bank’s branches.

In an exclusive interview with ThisDay, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the CEO of First Bank Nigeria, addressed these concerns.

Introducing Humanoid Robots for Enhanced Self-Service Banking

Adeduntan shed light on the bank’s groundbreaking Digital Xperience Centre (DXC), heralded as Nigeria’s first digital bank branch. Leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and humanoid robots, the DXC aims to revolutionize self-service banking operations for clients.

Adeduntan emphasized that the introduction of humanoid robots aligns with the bank’s forward-looking approach to the future of financial services delivery.

Launched initially in Lagos in 2021, the DXC stands as a fully automated interactive digital branch, redefining customers’ banking experiences through digitized self-service. Subsequent rollouts at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, and the Wuse branch in Abuja have garnered positive feedback from customers, especially those in the retail segments.

Responding to concerns about potential job displacement for bank employees, Adeduntan clarified the bank’s stance on the matter. He emphasized that the DXC is not intended to replace employees but rather to enhance efficiency and productivity.

Adeduntan stated, “The DXC is not a trade-off for our employees but an enabler to free up our staff’s productive time to take on more complex and rewarding tasks within the Bank.”

Adeduntan further reassured the public by highlighting the bank’s ongoing commitment to employee empowerment.

He stated, “Given our several laudable employee initiatives, we are well-equipped to empower our employees to take on any other role they may desire within the larger FirstBank Group.”

Looking Ahead

First Bank of Nigeria remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technological innovation in the banking sector.

Adeduntan concluded the interview by stating that there are plans for additional rollouts of DXCs across all operating jurisdictions, underscoring the bank’s commitment to providing cutting-edge banking solutions while simultaneously fostering employee growth and development.

Speaking on why the event was deemed important, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria, on Arise TV said there was no better time to attract investors into the country than now. Excerpt:

What is the purpose of this event and outcome you aim to achieve?

Thank you! The event in our view is one of the strategic sideline events that the Nigerian government put up as an integral part of our engagements with the international community for this year’s edition of the United Nation (UN) General Assembly(UNGA).

As you are aware, we do have a new president, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and he has embarked on what he has rightfully described as economic diplomacy, essentially trying to woo investors into our country so that we do have foreign direct investments that can help us to accelerate growth.

You’ll recall that the president has mentioned as part of his 8 points agenda that significant quantum growth in GDP is one of his administration’s objectives.

So, this is our own contribution, working with like-minded entities like Bank of America to put together Nigerian investors, Nigerians in diaspora, to brainstorm with the president in terms of what are those critical policy changes that the government will need to enact to ensure that Nigeria becomes the preferred destination for foreign direct investment and like you mentioned, the turnout today was extremely good, the contributions were quite solid and I believe we all left today’s session feeling very positive and very optimistic about the inflow of foreign direct investment into our country.

How do you see the role of banking sectors in facilitating these investments and economic development in the country?

What we explained again and again as CEO of First Bank, an institution that has been in existence for over 130 years, there is no other entity that is well placed to speak about investments in Nigeria, investment in the continent, better than the First Bank.

So, we basically showcased to the people who attended today’s event, the investment opportunities in Nigeria, how to navigate all the hurdles that they may come across, but, more importantly, the kind of rewards that awaits people who are able to invest in Nigeria. We cited several examples of foreign investors in our country who broke-even, we are the head of their protected broke-even period, and for us, that was quite significant.

We also highlighted the fact that with a huge domestic market, with excess of 200 million with Nigeria being the anchor economy in the West and Central Africa region, you can’t get it wrong with Nigeria. We do not lay heed to this huge opportunity on the back of the fact that we have not created a single African market on the back of the African continental free trade. So, a big investor in Nigeria essentially gains not just access to the Nigerian market, but the entire African market.

When you also look at the projections in another 10 years or so, the population of Africa is expected to be bigger than China. So, just imagine a market that is bigger than China in another couple of years. That is the market that we showcased today essentially to foreign investors and I believe that we’ve successfully convinced them that coming to Nigeria means to come into Africa.

The opportunities are huge, they are quite significant but mostly, they are also coming at a time when our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu  is focused on creating an enabling environment that allows foreign direct investors to come into our country to foster economic growth and development.

The president has been very emphatic, his agenda is about inclusive growth which is quite significant. So, I think the time is right, anybody that finds his way into our country at this particular point in time, in another five years, the person will be smiling to the bank.

What specific incentives do you present to potential investors during the launching?

The banking sector in general and First Bank in particular, our rule is to showcase what is possible, what is available, but, most importantly once those transactions and investments begin to take shape, it is for us to come in as a provider of them to those transactions.

Part of what we took away from today’s presentation is the need for the government to say these are the top 5 or top 10 big projects that we would like to finance. For example, the Brass LNG had been on the drawing board for more than 10 years. So, if we want to put this on the table, that potentially is an investment in billions of dollars. We have a number of moribund steel industries, Ajaokuta has been there, the Delta Steel Company has been there.

Time to revisit them and reactive those against significant investment and these are investments that will spur further investments and they will spur significant growth.

The president has been speaking about building infrastructure. You cannot build infrastructure without steel. For example, you cannot build infrastructure without cement. So, if there’s any takeaway today, it’s for the government to define a couple of top priority areas of projects, where they would like investments to come in.

And if you can just get 2 to 3 serious investors into Nigeria, imagine a world where you have like Ovreal (I’m just bringing it up), the big mining company coming to do mining in Nigeria. It changes the narrative immediately and so on and so forth.

So, on the back of the recent visit of the President to India, Indorama which currently has a Petrochemical plant in Port Harcourt has said they are going to invest additional $8bn, so, those are serious investors. All that is required is to get about 10 of such people. Imagine 8 serious players saying they will put an average of $8bn into this economy in the next 5 years.

We are talking of potential investors, so, therein lies our opportunity to unlock value, push significant economic growth, ‘inclusive growth’ to use the word of our president and then we begin to address poverty. As banks, we do have the balance sheet to support those big ticket transactions.

The Nigerian banking sector had also matured significantly. We also do have structuring capabilities that allow us to lead the fund raising efforts in this kind of transaction and it must definitely spur growth. I’m particularly excited about what the future holds for our country and I’m very optimistic that with this kind of leadership that our president provides, especially in the area of economy, the future is very bright.

Excerpts:

What are your forecasts and anticipations for the global economy in 2023?

I would like to start by noting that 2022 was indeed a turbulent year for the global economy. In 2022, the global economy witnessed record high inflation rates with the attendant high cost of living across several economies.

The elevated inflationary rates were attributed to the aftereffects of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the Russian-Ukraine crisis. In its last World Economic Outlook report, the IMF projected a 2.7 per cent global growth rate in 2023, lower than the 3.2 per cent in 2022.

The 2023 projection will be the weakest global growth profile since 2001 except for the global financial crisis year and the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

In my view, in 2023, we will likely witness slower growth across several global economies due to lingering trade tensions as the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis will still weigh heavily on global trade flows.

However, we may witness a decline in commodity prices as more import-dependent countries explore alternative sourcing options for these commodities.

Inflationary pressures will however reduce as the impact of rising monetary policy rates continues to yield expected outcomes.

The removal of COVID-19 restrictions in China should lead to a boost in global economic output. Oil prices are expected to remain largely elevated as tensions between Russia and Ukraine lingers, so energy prices will remain high. The transition to other sustainable forms of energy may also be accelerated by the prolonged crisis.

Given the tepid growth associated with the global economy in 2022, developing countries have been having difficulties in refinancing their foreign debt, do you see a gloomy impact on the economies of the developing countries in 2023 as a result?

With slowing growth and elevated inflation rates, the sustainability of foreign debts, especially for developing nations, is likely to call for a re-evaluation by lenders given the increased likelihood of default. When this is juxtaposed with the higher interest rate environment at which these debts are likely to be refinanced, you will observe a scenario where further strain is exerted on the debt repayment capacity of these economies.

However, this situation does not necessarily translate to an automatic economic doom for developing nations.

The actual impact on each developing economy will depend on the economy’s level of fiscal discipline and revenue generating capacity.

Developing nations who are able, in the short term, to increase revenues either from taxes or sale/refinancing of idle/sub-optimal assets will be able to negotiate reasonable refinancing terms from lenders and prevent further economic turmoil.

Nonetheless, all concerned nations need to take the issue of debt sustainability more seriously by limiting fiscal wastages, reducing inefficiencies, growing revenues, and aggressively working down unsustainable debt-to-GDP levels that may worsen the impacts of external shocks.

Do you think that the corporate default and NPL would increase in 2023 due to the current economic headwinds?

Expectedly, rising cost of debt and contracting demand will exacerbate the challenges that businesses will face in 2023, particularly for players operating in small-margins sectors of the economy. Locally, the surging inflation rate is sure to reduce disposable income of most consumers and demand for non-essential goods and services may dip. To prevent rising non-performing loans (NPLs), businesses and their bankers will have to collaborate more and ensure timely flow of information to prevent surprises.

Banks on their part will have to improve monitoring of their loan portfolio to quickly identify early warning signals for attention before a full-scale loan deterioration.

Overall, businesses and their bankers must approach 2023 with a partnership mindset to ensure that a win-win outcome is achieved despite the anticipated macroeconomic challenges.

With the tightening financial conditions which has partly led to slow global economic growth, what opportunities do you think exist in 2023 for players in the financial services industry?

Despite the expected macroeconomic challenges in 2023, there are also emerging business and revenue opportunities that can be exploited by discerning players in the financial services industry.

Specifically, the following areas will provide significant opportunity to players in the financial services industry:

Payments: The Central Bank of Nigeria’s renewed drive on cashless policy has provided an opportunity for players in the financial services industry to enhance existing digital product offerings and create more attractive product offerings that will further reduce frictions in the payment process. This will help to reduce the financial exclusion gap, increase fees and commissions revenues, and improve overall viability and stability of the financial system.

Digital Security: Increasing adoption of digital payments platforms will necessitate increased requirement for the security of payment channels. Thus, opportunities exist for players in the financial services industry to leverage robotics and artificial intelligence to improve security protocols on digital payment channels.

M & A Opportunities: with the anticipated pressures on earnings, opportunities exist for big and liquid players to gain additional scale and market share through outright acquisition of fringe players with the right strategic fit. There is also an opportunity for two or more small and/or medium size players to merge their operations/businesses to obtain scale advantage.

Partnerships across Segments: The growing number of Fintechs and licensed Payment Service Banks also presents an opportunity for improved partnerships across various categories of players in the financial services industry for both mutual and industry-wide benefits.

Consumer Lending: Tightening financial conditions of the average household will create opportunities for consumer loans in several variants such as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), salary advance, consumer asset finance, etc. The industry is already witnessing a rising trend in the creation of digital consumer loan product offerings. This is likely to intensify in 2023.

What are the key events that will shape 2023 domestic economic outlook and how strategically positioned is FirstBank to manage the challenges and opportunities?

Three key events will shape the 2023 macroeconomic outlook of Nigeria: The outcome of the 2023 general elections and peaceful political power transition; government’s ability to curb crude oil theft and increase production to meet OPEC quota; and successful removal of petrol subsidy.

For us at FirstBank, we are strategically positioned to take advantage of and harness the opportunities that the three key events will bring as well as successfully ride the waves of any challenges that may arise.

For over 128 years, FirstBank has built the capabilities and competencies required to succeed and thrive in any macroeconomic situation. As a Bank, our belief and commitment to the domestic economy is unwavering – FirstBank is truly woven into the fabric of the society.

How will you define the trends we saw in the banking sector landscape in 2022?

2022 was quite an eventful year and some visible trends emerged. I would like to classify the trends as follows:

Financial System Trends: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the monetary policy rate and the cash reserve ratio, cumulatively, by 500 basis points to 16.5 per cent and 32.5 per cent, respectively as a way of enforcing liquidity tightening measures to curb rising inflation.

In the same vein, the interest rate on savings accounts was restored to the pre-pandemic levels of 30% of MPR within the year thereby increasing the interest expense profile of banks. In addition, the paucity of foreign exchange exerted considerable pressure on banks’ foreign currency (FCY) trade lines in the course of the year, forcing banks to explore alternative ways to meet customers’ foreign currency needs, including deliberate focus on supporting and promoting non-oil export businesses and transactions.

Technological Trends: The banking sector witnessed an increase in technological innovations, as the industry strived to meet the ever-evolving customer needs.

In Nigeria, FirstBank was at the forefront of the technological trend, as we successfully launched a Digital Experience Center, a fully automated branch to meet our customer needs, while providing a unique and wholesome experience.

FirstBank also launched robotics process automation initiative, FirstRobotics, that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle high volume transactions The industry also witnessed increasing collaboration of banks and fintechs in 2022; enhanced digital product offerings, especially the rise in digital loans and advances; and an overall increase in acceptance of digital product offerings by banks and other financial services players.

Customer Trends: In 2022, we witnessed an increasing shift in emphasis from consumer banking to lifestyle banking in a bid to capture more of the customers’ journey. This shift has been hugely supported by technology as customer trends can now be easily identified, and new product offerings developed to meet customer needs.

The emigration trend witnessed in the past year also led to a boost in the industry’s diaspora customer base, leading to increased focus on meeting the needs of this peculiar customer segment.

Employee Trends: The banking industry, probably like any other industry in Nigeria, has seen significant attrition in the number of employees due to increased relocation to other countries (popularly known as Japa) in 2022. This has impacted the industry’s skill base and execution capabilities especially in critical areas of the industry. While this may be a national challenge, more creative ways must be explored to retain scarce talents for national development.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Government have set a target of 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2024, how realistic is this target and what role will First Bank be playing to support the government achieve this target?

Financial inclusion is usually seen as the gateway to economic prosperity as it signals the first step in the journey to financial freedom. In 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had unveiled its National Financial Inclusion Strategy with the principal goal of reducing the nation’s financial exclusion rate to 20 per cent of the adult population by 2020.

Although this goal was not achieved (as financial exclusion rate stood at 35.9 per cent at the end of that period), the nation had nonetheless made giant strides in raising financial inclusion levels from that take-off point.

As such, while the CBN’s revised target of 95 per cent financial inclusion rate by 2024 may be audacious, it is achievable given the level of financial awareness that has already been created in previous years which has raised financial literacy among the average citizenry. In addition, in view of the additional investments and infrastructural base that is available in the country, more mileage can be made now than ever before.

It should also be noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria has been deliberate in pursuing its financial inclusion agenda through the licensing of several players/operators in the financial services industry, including fintechs, mobile money operators, Payment Service Banks (PSBs), Microfinance Banks/institutions, new deposit money banks (DMBs), etc.

As such, several players are making various attempts at solving the same problem which will significantly increase the likelihood of success. As the foremost financial institution in Nigeria, FirstBank has always collaborated with the Central Bank and the Nigerian government to push several national initiatives, particularly as it relates to the financial services industry.

Specifically, FirstBank’s Firstmonie Agent Network is fully aligned with improving financial inclusion in Nigeria. With over 196,000 agents spread across 772 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria and many of the agents operating from 512 LGAs without a FirstBank branch, the Bank has been a clear partner to the Central Bank of Nigeria in improving financial inclusion in the country.

FirstBank’s USSD (*894#) product, which is demographically positioned for the unbanked, has over 14 million users with more than 261 million unique transactions, worth over NGN1.1 trillion processed on the platform. FirstBank has been at the forefront of increasing financial inclusion in Nigeria and will continue to play its part until every adult in Nigeria is adequately banked.

What is your take on two recent policies of the CBN – the naira redesign and the cash withdrawal limits?

The CBN as the apex regulator of the financial services industry has overall responsibility to ensure the soundness of the nation’s financial systems. In discharging this responsibility, it develops policies that are meant to strengthen the monetary environment and stimulate further economic development of the country – the recent naira redesign and cash withdrawal limits policies are part of its core mandate.

As noted by the CBN, the naira redesign will improve both the integrity of the local legal tender and the efficiency of its supply, thus addressing a situation where 80 per cent of currency in circulation is outside the banking system.

To aid its implementation, the CBN has also suspended charges on cash deposits to encourage everyone to deposit old naira notes in the Banks.

The new N200, N500 & N1000 notes which came into circulation on 15th December 2022 will co-exist with the old notes until 31st January 2023 when the old notes will cease to be legal tender in Nigeria.

Similarly, the cash withdrawal policy which will limit weekly cash withdrawals by individuals and companies to N500,000.00 and N5,000,000.00 respectively, is expected to accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a digital economy.

The policy which comes into effect from January 9, 2023, will present the added advantage of bringing more people into the banking system thus improving financial inclusion. At FirstBank, we view both policies as business enablers with bright prospects and we are poised to take maximum advantage of the opportunities they bring to improve our service offerings and the overall experience of our customers.

FirstBank has a lot of Firstmonie agents scattered around the country, how will the cash withdrawal limit affect their operations?

As at November 2022, FirstBank has over 196,000 Firstmonie agents spread across 772 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.

These agents have also processed over 1.16 billion transactions valued at N26.52 trillion. About 45 per cent of our Firstmonie Agent network are in rural areas, 18 per cent located in semi-urban areas and only 37 per cent are in urban areas.

Beyond Cash-in-Cash-Out (CICO) transactions, these agents also render other services such as account opening, airtime purchase, bill payment, government-revenue collection, transfer and disbursement, mobile-money (wallet creations, deposits, withdrawals), bank verification number (BVN) enrollment and other non-bank ecosystem value-added support services, in line with CBN’s guideline for Mobile Money and Agent Banking businesses.

These services have helped to bring banking services closer to local communities thereby empowering them and facilitating their economic development. Through Firstmonie, FirstBank provides convenient low-cost financial access for millions of Nigerians in rural areas.

Therefore, given the spread of our agent banking network and the scope of services they offer, the cash withdrawal limit is not likely to have an adverse effect on their operations.  In reality, we see it as an enabler that will bring more people into the banking system. The new cash withdrawal limit will help to drive the penetration and uptake of digital/mobile wallet offerings in the industry.

FBN Holdings doubled its Q3 2022 profit to N105 billion and the performance by the bank was the major contributor, can you take us through the drivers of the impressive Q3 result?

FirstBank’s Q3 2022 results reflect the robustness of our business model and go-to market approach even in a challenging business and operating environment. The impressive profitability performance was driven by the resilient execution of our strategy and transformation program.

Specifically, FirstBank delivered a 42.4 per cent year-on-year (yoy) increase in interest income on the back of yield optimisation on existing assets and addition of about N700 billion to the risk asset portfolio.

Also, the bank recorded a decent 6.8 per cent growth in fees and commission within the period driven by significant improvements in LC commissions, account maintenance charges etc. The bank also recorded over 47 per cent y-o-y increase in other operating income within the same period.

Overall, I would say that the results are a clear outcome of the collective efforts and resilience of the entire staff and the Board of Directors of the FirstBank Group in deliberately executing on our transformation agenda.  We remain confident that our growth trajectory is sustainable, and we are focused on delivering on our 2020 – 2024 strategic ambition of accelerated growth in profitability through customer-led innovation and disciplined execution.

What is the level of non-performing loans and what has the bank been doing to reduce it?

FirstBank Group has achieved great strides in reducing its NPL from double-digit in 2016 to below regulatory benchmark of five per cent in Q3 2022, which attest to the fact that the bank is strong and resilient.  FirstBank has, in the recent years, built an enduring risk culture and governance systems, as well as strengthened its risk management infrastructure through technology, process automation and specialised training.

Few years ago, FirstBank embarked on a business expansion drive within the continent, can you take us through the performance of your subsidiaries in the continent?

FirstBank embarked on its African expansion in 2011. Today, the Bank is present in six other African markets namely: Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Guinea.

As part the 2020 – 2024 strategic plan, FirstBank refreshed its vision to be “Africa’s Bank of First Choice” to serve as an anchor for its renewed African expansion drive. As such, the Bank is exploring entry into additional high-impact African markets.

While the growth journey of each African subsidiary is different, we are extremely proud of the investments that we have made in these markets and the positive contributions we are beginning to see from each subsidiary. Overall, I would like to note that all our African subsidiaries are making positive contributions to the Group in terms of profitability.

How is the bank positioning to take advantage of the AfCFTA?

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement has created the largest free trade area in the world (measured by the number of participating countries) as it involves most of the 55-member countries of the African Union with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion and connects 1.3 billion people across the continent.

According to the World Bank, the AfCFTA has the potentials to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and raise the incomes of 68 million others who live on less than $5.50 per day. It also has the potentials to drive $292 billion in income gains for participating members.

FirstBank is already actively playing in seven African countries with plans to enter additional high-impact African markets in the short to medium term. The bank has also institutionalised a collaboration framework across all operating jurisdictions to ensure clients operating in multiple African jurisdictions can be effectively served across the network.

The bank has developed special products (known as First Global Transfer) to facilitate regional payments for our pan-African clients in addition to our online and digital platforms.

On the part of the customers, FirstBank has conducted several non-oil export seminars to raise awareness levels on the opportunities presented by AfCFTA and equip our clients with the right knowledge to exploit these opportunities. As a bank, we view AfCFTA as an enabler of our corporate vision and we will continue to ensure the right investments are made to capture the opportunities it presents.

Your UK subsidiary recently marked its 40th anniversary, what was the journey like in that 40 years and looking ahead, what should customers be expecting from FirstBank in UK?

FirstBank’s foray into the United Kingdom (UK) forty years ago is a clear demonstration of uncommon foresight by the leadership of the Bank. Given the burgeoning trade relations between Nigeria and the then European Union (which included the UK) and the growing status of London as a leading global financial center, the decision to establish a subsidiary of FirstBank in the UK could not have been better made.

Since commencement of operations in the UK, FBNBank UK has provided a bridge for Nigerian firms with interests in the UK to achieve their financial goals and meet their banking needs.

FBNBank UK has provided trade and correspondent banking relationships that have facilitated the achievements of several Nigerian and indeed other African entities’ trade objectives. This is in addition to offering other services such as advisory, mortgage and investment products to its clientele base.

FBNBank UK has also provided access to foreign capital markets to African firms and countries to raise much-needed capital that have contributed to the economic transformation of the African continent.

As we look to the future, customers of FBNBank UK can be assured of the same excellent services they have become accustomed to with more innovative products that will help them solve their emerging needs.

We saw the licencing of a few banks in 2022 and the industry becoming more competitive, why should your customers continue to bank with FirstBank?

Indeed, the industry has changed and will continue to evolve at a faster pace with the competitive landscape becoming more challenging because of the inter-play of several actors – new banks, fintechs, etc. However, customers will continue to gravitate towards institutions that provide the best digital banking services that address their changing needs for convenience, speed, and security.

With over 128 years’ experience in this market, we believe that FirstBank is well positioned to continue to delivery excellent customer experience and thrive.

Our customers can bank on our commitment to continuously re-invent our processes and products to meet both their present and future financial needs.

The bank will intensify ongoing efforts to simplify banking for every customer segment leveraging cutting-edge digital capabilities and platforms that make banking more seamless. Combining our deep local knowledge of this market with our unmatched physical presence, FirstBank customers will always have an edge over their competitors. Our rich bouquet of products and service offerings also guarantees there will always be the right product for every customer, with each customer interaction constantly made better through data-driven insights. Our “You First” brand promise to our customers is a commitment that will always keep us on our toes until every customer’s financial needs are excellently satisfied. Overall, to the customers, we commit to provide the best value proposition and deliver exceptional customer experience.

FirstBank has made good progress in positively impacting the communities where it operates. Can you speak about some of these?

At FirstBank, we are committed to nation-building and have been driving sustainable social, economic and environmental growth for over 128 years of our existence. Our community development initiatives are anchored on our strategic Education, Health and Welfare pillars. Our engagement in sustainable business practices is based on our promise of enhancing social and economic development as well as contributing to environmental sustainability for the present and future generation.

Our key programmes include Infrastructure Development programme; Endowment programme; Future First (Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Career Counseling); E-Learning Initiative; SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness) and CRS Week.

First Bank Infrastructural Development programme is aimed at promoting infrastructure development under its identified areas of support.

This includes providing infrastructure facilities in schools, hospitals and environmental infrastructure projects.

This is in recognition of the importance of these facilities in improving the quality of life. We have built over 16 infrastructure projects which include universities and secondary and primary schools.

The FutureFirst programme in partnership with Junior Achievement Nigeria has impacted Over 1,000,000 people across the regions of the country including Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja with knowledge of financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Over 175,000 students have benefitted from the E-learning initiative thus far.

This include 20,000 indigent students that have received free low-end devices preloaded with accredited content. SPARK which was introduced in the maiden edition of the Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S) week in 2017 espouses reigniting our values which appear to be eroding fast.

The initiative focuses on creating and reinforcing an attitude of going beyond just meeting the material needs of people who are unable to help themselves to showing compassion, empathy, affection.

In 2022, over 8 million people were impacted including students underprivileged including widows in 8 countries including United Kingdom, Ghana, DRC, Guinea, Sierra Lone, Senegal & Nigeria.  We had partnerships with over 100 Charities / NGOs including LEAP Africa; International Women Society; UNGC; UN Women; Junior Achievement Nigeria. In addition, one of our long-term approaches to sustainability includes minimising the bank’s direct and indirect impact on the environment. So, beyond our education and health interventions, the bank has been employing international best practices tools to manage risks in the lending process in accordance with our subsisting Environmental Social and Governance Management System.

Over N6.2 trillion worth of transactions were screened for ESG risks. We are partnering at the moment with the National Conservation Foundation on the Green Recovery Nigeria (GRN), as part of the Bank’s climate initiative which includes driving afforestation and reforestation.

[Culled from ThisDay]

From an institution that used to be perceived as an old-generation bank, FirstBank is now a darling to all as it leverages latest digital tools to meet its customers’ needs.

Also, under Adeduntan’s leadership, the 128-year old bank has made huge contributions to national development, thereby stimulating development, setting standards and motivating excellent output across sectors.

Clearly, these contributions to national development were what endeared Adeduntan to President Muhammadu Buhari who recently saluted him on his recognition by Cranfield University, UK, one of the most prestigious citadels of learning in Europe.

Adeduntan will on Wednesday, June 22, be conferred with Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa and he would be delivering an address to the graduating class of the university.

This feat, the president in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, described as, “another testament to the fact that Nigeria is blessed with the brightest and the best in all areas of human endeavor.”

Buhari lauded Adesola Adeduntan for being a role model to the younger generation, showing that hard work pays, and with resourcefulness and doggedness, great heights are achievable.

Adeduntan holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Ibadan, Master’s in Business Administration from Cranfield University, and is Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), as well as Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

The president sent best wishes to Adeduntan and family as he hoisted Nigeria’s flag proudly to receive an honor Cranfield University said was in recognition of his outstanding contribution to business. Incidentally, Buhari’s commendation came on the day the bank successfully held its AGM which showed a stellar performance in its financials, a transformational result that put the bank on course to reclaiming its leadership position of the financial sector.

Adeduntan has a distinguished career in finance having held senior positions at Citibank Nigeria, KPMG and Arthur Andersen Nigeria.

He studied at Cranfield University as a British Chevening Scholar, achieving an MBA in 2005.

Commenting on the honour by Cranfield University, the FirstBank boss said: “I am extremely humbled and most grateful to the university for this recognition. My time at Cranfield served as a catalyst for my professional and personal development propelling me to the leadership position I occupy today.

“I am a firm believer in talent management, being vital to further accelerate Africa’s growth to enable it to benefit from its demographic dividend and the opportunities therein. I look forward to sharing my experiences with the students on the universal applicability of the skills the Cranfield MBA provides to positively impact the world.”

On his part, the Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University, Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng also congratulated Adeduntan, saying: “It is an honour to welcome Dr Adeduntan back to Cranfield to recognise all his professional achievements in this way. His own experience at Cranfield University has propelled his career forward and this serves as a true inspiration for our graduates both this year and in the future.”

Indeed, Adesola Adeduntan is an accomplished professional with distinctive international and domestic experience in commercial and investment banking, development finance, audit, and consulting; a philanthropist and leader with keen interest in providing platforms for the development of other young leaders.

The FirstBank Group, the commercial banking arm of FBN Holdings Plc, which he heads is made up of First Bank of Nigeria and subsidiaries including FBNBank UK, FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Sierra Leone and First Pension Custodian as well as Representative Offices in France and China.

Adeduntan is overseeing one of the most extensive transformation programmes in sub-Saharan African financial services industry, with the goal to reposition FirstBank Group to market pre-eminence.

He is leading FirstBank Group on the journey to win the most significant emerging business opportunities in the financial services industry through the development and execution of a digital-led strategy that has established FirstBank as the dominant player in digital banking.

FirstBank Group’s transformation programme, under the leadership of Adesola Adeduntan has enabled the bank to grow customer accounts from about 10 million in 2015 to over 36 million (including digital wallets), become the second largest issuer of cards in Africa with over 11.8 million issued cards, onboard over 18.6 million active customers on FirstBank’s digital banking platforms, and initiate and grow the most expansive bank-led Agent Banking Network in Africa with over 170,000 agents.

His career in banking and finance, spanning almost three decades, has earned him various recognitions and awards including Forbes Best of Africa – Outstanding Leader in Africa, Distinguished Alumnus Award by both the Cranfield University’s  School of Management and the University of Ibadan, African Banking Personality of the Year,  African Banker of the Year Award; Banking Icon of the Decade by the Sun Newspapers and induction into the African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Hall of Fame, Honorary Citizenship of the State of Georgia and Congressional Commendation Award from the Georgia Senate – USA, Bank CEO of the Year by the AES Excellence Club and several other awards.

He has attended various executive and leadership programmes at Harvard Business School (USA), Wharton School (USA), London Business School (UK), IESE (Spain), University of Oxford (UK), University of Cambridge (UK), CEIBS (China) and INSEAD (France). He is a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Adeduntan’s leadership drive also reflected in First Bank Nigeria Limited’s recently released full year 2021 financial statement.

The results clearly showed the strength and resilience of the iconic African elephant as well as the financial institution’s leadership in the industry.

The impressive results were a reflection of the robust strength and growth of the iconic African elephant, showing that the bank has taken its rightful position among the industry leaders.

In addition, it showed the level of work the current board, management and staff of the bank have put in to turn the tide in the 128 years old institution with entrenched corporate governance.

The full year 2021 performance by the bank represented a shift in the financial institution’s performance trajectory and was made possible through its undeterred commitment in pursuing its transformational agenda; cutting across customer-led innovation, building a digitalised bank, culture change, reinventing the bank’s workplace and safeguarding its assets for the digital age.

For the first time, FirstBank Group posted the best result in more than a decade history of the bank by crossing the N100 billion profit line. Specifically, in the full year 2021 financial statement, the FirstBank Group reported a 73.9 per cent growth in its profit after tax to N117.8 billion, as against the N67.8 billion recorded as of December 2020, just as its profit before tax stood at N130.9 billion, which was a significant rise by 77.9 per cent year-on-year, as against the N73.6 billion it was as of December 2020.

FirstBank’s gross earnings also increased by 30.3 per cent to N716.8 billion in 2021, up from N550.3 billion it was as of December 2020.

Also, it recorded non-interest income of N342.2 billion in the year under review, which was 106.4 per cent higher than the N165.8 billion recorded as of December 2020. As a result of years of strategic restructuring of its balance sheet and operations, its gross earnings also moved northwards by 30.3 per cent, its total assets was up 15.9 per cent to N8.5 trillion as of the end of 2021, as against the N7.4 trillion recorded the previous year, just as its customer deposits also climbed by 19.5 per cent to N5.6 trillion, up from the N4.7 trillion recorded the previous year. The bank’s customer loans and advances also improved by 28 per cent to N2.8 trillion in the year under review, up from N2.2 trillion the previous year.

FirstBank has shown innovation, resilience and commitment to growth by significantly reducing its non-performing loans (NPL) from 25% in 2016 to an acceptable level of 6.1% in 2021.

To demonstrate that the bank’s performance in 2021 was not a fluke, the Bank equally performed excellently well in Q1 2022. FirstBank recorded 32% increase in gross earnings to N180bn in Q1’22 from N136.6bn in Q1’21. Profit after tax was up 108% to N32.4 billion (Q1’22) relative to N15.6 billion (Q1’21).

This impressive performance is hinged on robust loan portfolio, effective cost structure and increased digital services.

FirstBank recorded the highest decline in its cost-to-income ratio in Q1 2022, dropping from 79.5% recorded in Q1 2021 to 67.03% amongst tier-1 Banks in the review period.  

With FirstBank under Adesola Adeduntan, the safety of customers and the security of their transactions come first. This has ensured the bank keeps the trust of Nigerians gained over the many years of its enduring legacy of safety and security.

The bank also delivers unique and bespoke financial services solutions across all customer segments underpinned by its commitment to innovation and the customer experience.

It also leverages its strong investment banking capabilities to support clients in defining and executing innovative debt solutions as well as offer strategic advice at the highest level, arrange tailor-made financing structures, manage risk and ultimately help clients to realise their aspirations

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.

It is expected that the leadership excellence and recognitions accorded to Adeduntan would continue to reflect positively on the FirstBank brand and fundamentals of the bank so that the elephant will continue to stand ‘gidigba.’

Culled from ThisDay