Nigeria’s biggest financial services provider, First Bank of Nigeria Plc was over the weekend in Lagos named the “Best Telecoms Financing Bank’ in Nigeria at the 2011edition of the Nigerian Telecoms Awards.

The award is coming on the heels of the Bank’s preparedness to effectively position itself for the emerging opportunities in the mobile broadband and data market in Nigeria through the provision of alternative financial transaction channels for the banked, unbanked and under banked segments of the nation.

Mr. Taiwo Otuniga, Ag, Telecoms and Transport, First Bank of Nigeria Plc receiving “Best Telecoms Financing Bank” award won by the Bank from Mr. Emeka Oparah, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Airtel Nigeria at the Nigeria Telecoms Awards held in Lagos recently

Organized by Logica Media Group, the event is held yearly to recognize and celebrate organisations that have facilitated the growth of the sector in Nigeria. The organisers said FirstBank’s consistent support for the development and growth of the sector earned the leading financial institution the prestigious award, adding that the Bank had remained a major player in ensuring the expansion of telecoms business since the revolution began in 2001.

According to Folake Ani-Mumuney, Head, Marketing & Communications, the award underscores FirstBank’s leading position in generally providing financial services and solutions to drive economic growth across all sectors of the economy.

Ani-Mumuney said the Bank had over the years supported major telecoms operators through the provision of term loans and working capital credit lines in Dollar and Naira Credit to enhance Network rollout expansion. She explained that the Bank has also effectively deployed its IT infrastructure platform to enhance and bank the major operators (GSM & CDMA) sales collection as well as partnering with the dealers through dealership finance schemes.

“We have continued to leverage on our extensive and long existing relationships with varying corresponding banking institutions worldwide in offering professional, cost effective and timely foreign trade services to our strategic telecoms partners,” she added.

Some of the telecom financing transactions driven by FirstBank include: MTN N250 billion Syndicated Term Loan Refinancing (2010); EMTS (Etisalat) US$650Million Syndicated Term Loan (2011); Starcomms US$32.4million Bank Guarantee in favour of ICBC; Main One Cable US$120M Syndicated facility for the construction of Fibre Optic cable from Lisbon, Portugal to Lagos Nigeria (Phase 1); and Huawei US$35Million Invoice Factoring Line (2010).

Ani-Mumuney added that in addition to providing and facilitating financial support for the Telecom Sector, First offers sound financial advisory services by leveraging on its long standing experience and knowledge in the industry as well as making use of the Bank’s various investment subsidiaries to raise local and offshore capital requirement (equity and debt) for its strategic telecoms partners.