First Bank reiterates commitment to meet minimum capital requirement

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (“FirstBank” or the “Group”), a foremost Nigerian bank with over US$15 billion in assets and US$1.9 billion in shareholders’ funds as at December 31, 2017, confirmed, that the recapitalization of its wholly owned subsidiary, FBNBank Ghana to the revised minimum capital requirement was progressing according to plans.

This is on the back of the directive issued by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on September 11, 2017 to all banks in Ghana revising upward the minimum paid up capital to GH¢400 million, with a compliance deadline of December 31, 2018.

The Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), First Bank of Nigeria and Subsidiaries – Dr. Adesola Adeduntan (FCA), stated that, “The Group is committed to ensuring the full capitalization of FBNBank Ghana ahead of the deadline.

FirstBank is confident that the BoG’s directive will enhance the capacity of banks in Ghana to support local industries and sustainable economic growth.

The capitalization will immediately scale FBNBank Ghana to the fourth largest bank in the Group, with complete access to the innovative capabilities and global resources of FirstBank in 8 countries on 3 continents, to deepen customer reach, broaden offerings and accelerate growth of our banking business in Ghana.”

It will be recalled that the MD/CEO, FirstBank, at the recent commissioning of FBNBank Ghana’s new Head Office, had affirmed the Group’s commitment to meeting the new requirement within the stipulated deadline.

Established in 1894, FirstBank is one of the leading financial institutions in Africa. FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on fundamentals of good corporate governance, robust liquidity, effective risk management and strong capitalization.

FirstBank provides an array of world-class financial offerings to over 15 million corporate, small businesses and individual customers.

With an extensive network of over 800 business locations and 2,600 ATM’s across Africa, Europe and Asia, FirstBank was in 2018 again named one of the 500 leading global banking brands.