Our Rationale

FirstBank's CSR strategy encompasses the Bank's commitment to being a major contributor to the social, economic and cultural development of the nation beyond the provision of financial services to its customers. Through intervention in selected focus areas, the Bank is determined to facilitate sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by Nigerians in diverse situations while engaging in constructive and mutual partnerships with the beneficiaries.

The focus areas include: education and youth development, sports development, health and welfare, arts and culture, entrepreneurial and economic development, and environmental and social issues, with education, health and entrepreneurial development being the top priority focus areas.

Corporate transformation initiatives

In the year under review, the Bank activated ongoing initiatives to enhance its service delivery and communications to customers and other stakeholders. These initiatives have already significantly improved our responsiveness and consequently the market perception of the Bank.

Launch of FirstContact

FirstContact is the Bank's 24/7 interactive customer service centre which was launched internally on 3 August 2009 and externally on 6 November 2009. This service is a response and enquiry handling service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is also a channel which is used to cross-sell the Bank's products and services to existing customers.

Launch of FirstServe

FirstServe is the Bank's Centralised Processing Centre, established as a dedicated back-end processing centre to perform transaction processing on behalf of the branches and other alternative channels, like Online Banking and FirstContact. The major objective is to minimise transaction times and standardise service delivery. The pilot phase of the project went live at Marina Branch on 7 December 2009 with account opening processing.

Launch of the Bank's new website

A revamped group website was launched in September 2009. The re-designed website is more contemporary, user-friendly and has richer content that better engages the Bank's stakeholders.

Visibility for the corporate brand

Brand leadership must be supported by high visibility. This was achieved during the year through various advertising and activation campaigns showcasing the Bank's corporate strengths and value-adding products and services, as well as sponsorship of high-profile events, such as the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Branch optimisation

This project is underway to implement a brand-driven decor and internal signage that will create an effective marketing and service-oriented ambience across all branches. The aim is to delight customers, drive sales and help change the perception of FirstBank as oldfashioned, particularly among the new generation of consumers.