First Bank appoints Abiodun Odubola as Executive Director

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced the appointment of its Chief Risk Officer, Abiodun Odubola as an Executive Director.

The appointment of Odubola, who retains his portfolio as the Chief Risk Officer, is expected to follow the statutory approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank, Bisi Onasanya, said that the choice of the new director is in line with the bank's commitment to sustaining the on-going corporate transformation, as well as enhance the capacity of the executive management and board, by deepening specialization and strengthening the corporate governance culture of the Bank.

Odubola is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIB) and a Director of CRC Credit Bureau Limited. He is also a seasoned risk management practitioner and banker with over 26 years' experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Ibadan and University of Lagos, Nigeria respectively.

Prior to his appointment, he had been Head, Credit Analysis and Processing Department in First Bank and Chief Risk Officer at Ecobank Plc. Abiodun started his banking career with Citibank over 19 years ago and garnered diverse hands-on experience covering relationship management, credit underwriting, credit risk management, country risk management and credit audit within and outside of Nigeria.

Commenting further on the appointment, Onasanya said as the leading financial services institution in Nigeria, the Bank is keen on ensuring adherence to leading international best practices in the constitution of its Board and Management. 'We, therefore, continuously seek the most capable talents in-house and in the industry to fill vacant positions within the group and the choice of the new Executive Director typify our Bank's value system hinged on dependability, entrepreneurship, integrity, resilience, dynamism, good governance and service excellence and I trust that he will bring to bear his wealth of experience and continue to positively impact our drive for sustainable growth and development,' he said.