First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion services provider,  has graduated 12 successful candidates in the third edition of its Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP). The graduation ceremony held virtually, via the Zoom video conferencing platform on Wednesday, 2 September, 2020.

The Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP) is FirstBank’s intensive modular programme for a select group of senior managers to principal managers who are proven leaders in their respective functions and have been identified as central to the Bank’s succession plan.

Prior to the 2020 programme, 40 exemplary staff had successfully participated in the SMDP. 23 staff graduated in the inaugural edition that held in 2017 and the 2018 programme had 17 graduands.

According to Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited; “I am delighted with the performance of the third set of the Senior Management Development Program (SMDP) graduands. The set’s performance and response to the various trainings and initiatives have been very impressive and exemplary. The set has demonstrated the gold standard of value and excellence in banking services which FirstBank stands for. The SMDP has been an insightful and impactful journey for the Bank and the participants.”

“I encourage each graduand to maximise the experience and knowledge garnered from the program as they build on their individual and collective contribution to the Bank’s continued growth as well as its efforts in enabling and impacting Nigeria, and the Africa continent at large,” he concluded.

About FirstBank

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 125 years.

With over 750 business locations and over 57,000 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 9million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code 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. 

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

Folake Ani-Mumuney

Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications

www.firstbanknigeria.com