In keeping with its tradition of stimulating the economy and encouraging bi-lateral trade relations between Nigeria and its trading partners, Nigeria’s leading financial institution, First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FirstBank) has deployed cutting-edge technology to drive its products and services at the 25th edition of Lagos International Trade Fair which kicked off yesterday, November 04, 2011.

This is coming on the heels of the announcement by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, organizers of the 10-day fair that FirstBank has emerged the Official Banker for this year’s edition. The choice of FirstBank, declared as the “Most Innovative Bank in Africa” by the Banker magazine during the 2011 IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC, is predicated on its time tested financial muscle, innovative pedigree in product offerings and an array of services that seek to serve different segments of the market. As the Official Banker, FirstBank would enjoy the sole privilege of domiciling all proceeds from the fair. This year’s edition titled: “Increasing the Competitiveness of Nigerian Products in the Global Market” is expected to be declared open by President Goodluck Jonathan, while other special guests include Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga. 

During the ten-day fair, the Bank’s broad clientele and prospective ones will benefit from FirstBank’s famous financial advisory services, on-line-real-time banking, internet banking, Automated Teller Machine (ATM), cards products, consumer finance products and Western Union/MoneyGram services. Over the years, the Bank has broadened its product and services offerings to include agricultural finance, bills discounting, equipment leasing and mortgage finance.

Apart from having the largest financial services group in sub-Saharan Africa, the Bank has one of the most expansive online-real time local branch network of over 600 and international presence in the United Kingdom, Paris, China and South Africa, and recently DR Congo. The FirstBank Group is well diversified and contributes to national economic development through subsidiaries involved in capital market operations, insurance services, asset management and investment banking, private equity/venture capital, pension fund custody, registrar services, trusts, mortgages and microfinance. The Bank is structured along corporate, public, retail, institutional and private banking customer segments, giving it the ability to drive deeper product penetration and develop sector expertise with relationship management based on a deep understanding of customer needs.
With a primary listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, about 32.6 billion issued shares and one of the highest shareholders’ funds in the Nigerian financial landscape, FirstBank is owned by over 1.3 million shareholders across the globe and has an unlisted Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) programme. The Bank continues to enjoy strong ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, Global Credit Rating and Agusto & Co. During the year, FirstBank attained ISO/IEC 27001: 2005 Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) indicating its strictest adherence to the security and protection of the information of its over seven million customers in over 630 locations in Nigeria.