FirstBank supports SMEs with bouquet of offerings

Consistent with its continued support for the sustainable development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sectors of the Nigerian Economy, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc and Nigeria's most valuable bank brand, has unveiled its new proposition to its customers with the 'WE CAN HELP WITH THAT' campaign.

The proposition was developed to demonstrate how FirstBank is positioned to help businesses grow and expand.

The Bank has over the years displayed an unwavering commitment to the business success of SMEs in Nigeria with its cocktail of products and bespoke solutions, specifically designed to help grow and sustain SMEs.

Given that SMEs are pivotal to national development, FirstBank has shown full understanding and is committed to ensure continued business growth providing the necessary services to grow businesses and Nigeria's economy at large. With a heritage of over 120 years of banking experience, FirstBank started small and has grown through various stages, gathering the desired wealth of experience to understands the business journey for SMEs and is passionate about supporting them to ensure continued business growth.

From the Education Sector to Services, Trading, Manufacturing and Distributorship, FirstBank support services will ensure you have access to the right financial tools.

Some of the Bank's interventions for SMEs include Overdraft for working capital, Operational vehicles loans; e.g. School Bus, delivery vans Equipment Finance, Commercial Building Loan, Education Management Portal, Contract & LPO Finance, Invoice Discounting Finance, Import Finance, Bonds & Guarantees, Bill & Tax Payments, Bulk Payment & Collections Solutions, e-Commerce Platforms, Non-Oil Export Financing, Domestic Money Transfers, Zero COT Accounts, Non-Oil Export Financing, Import Finance Facility, Key Distributorship Finance (Cement, Telco, FMCGs), among several other products.

According to the FirstBank's spokesperson, Folake Ani-Mumuney, businesses require more than loans, and the bank makes available non- financial services to its customers such as access to administrative assistance, translation services, conferences, seminars, forums and other business support services.

'We are determined to pass on our own expertise and knowledge to small businesses across several sectors in Nigeria. Our experience in business spans several industries and segments. We understand the position most of our SME's are in simply because we can relate and provide valuable solutions. We care about the path to success for our customers, we have walked this path and have developed solutions to ensure that the road to success is as stable as can be for our customers'

'Additionally, because we understand that each business and sector is unique, our customers are assigned Relationship Managers that have good knowledge of their sector and business environment, providing you with the best, most relevant advice. They are also empowered to expose you to and take advantage of other opportunities within the bank. Our Relationship Managers provide industry specific knowledge and expertise to help guide your business through the expansion vision our SME customers have for their businesses.' she further enthused.

FirstBank is committed to the success of SMEs and has through many years groomed SMEs into large corporations.

Some of the Bank's support programmes for SMEs include African Start-Up on CNN, a sponsored TV documentary on CNN showcasing SME success stories across Africa; Ignite (an afterschool graduate employability and enterprise training initiative); Sponsorship of SME Radio Programme, The Economy & You, SME conferences and seminars across various states in Nigeria as well as the SMEConnect website which is at the heart of FirstBank's SME activities. The website www.firstbanknigeria.com/smeconnect provides resource materials and serves as a channel to obtain feedback from customers as well as communicate the Bank's products and services targeted at SMEs.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, is Nigeria's leading financial services institution by total assets and gross earnings and one of the largest corporate and retail banking financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa).

Since its establishment in 1894, the Bank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, risk management and strong capitalization.

FirstBank operates an extensive distribution network with over 750 business locations (623 branches, 61 quick service points and 69 cash centers/agencies), over 2,600 ATM's and over 10 million customer accounts.

The Bank provides a comprehensive range of financial services and has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank DR Congo, FBNBank Ghana, International Commercial Bank (ICB) The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal as well as its Representative Offices in Johannesburg, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.

FirstBank is the recipient of many awards. The Bank has been named 'The Best Bank Brand in Nigeria' four times in a row - 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 - by the globally renowned 'The Banker Magazine' of the Financial Times Group. FirstBank's brand purpose is to always put its stakeholders, customers and partners at the heart of its business, even as it is poised to standardize customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across Sub Saharan Africa, in consonance with its brand vision 'To be the partner of first choice in building your future'. The brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate 'gold standard' of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on the FirstBank's inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position its customers first in every respect.

For three consecutive years, 2012, 2013 and 2014, FirstBank was named the 'Best Retail Bank in Nigeria' by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards. Other recent awards include the 'Best Bank in Nigeria' in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence, 'Best Bank in West Africa' and 'Most Innovative Bank in Africa' in the African Banker Awards, 'Best Bank in Nigeria' in the EMEA Finance African Banking Awards for the fourth time, 'Best Foreign Exchange Services in Africa' in the EMEA Finance Treasury Services Awards, 'Best Banking Group in Nigeria' by World Finance Banking Awards, and 'Best Financial Reporting Company' by Africa Investor.