Operational Review

• Mrs Bola Adesola is the Executive Director in charge of Lagos Directorate.
• The Directorate consists of 60 branches.
• The branches are grouped into 11 Business Development Offices (BDO).
• The BDOs are headed by Business Development Managers (BDMs). In the directorates, branch managers provide all banking services at the various branches under each BDO.

Through the branches, the Directorate offers a comprehensive range of wholesale/corporate banking products/services to large corporate customers; retail banking products/services to small-sized businesses; consumer banking products/services to individual customers; a mix of products/services specifically geared to government ministries, departments and agencies.

Area covered by Lagos Directorate

Lagos Island/Central, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki to Epe, Surulere, Yaba, Apapa, Orile- Iganmu, Amuwo- Odofin, Festac, Satellite Town up to Seme border, but excluding Agbara.

Located in the southwest of the country, on the Atlantic coast in the Gulf of Guinea, west of the Niger River delta, Lagos is one of the fastest-growing mega cities in the world. The nation's economic nerve centre, it accounts for over 60% of total industrial investment and foreign trade in the country, and for over 65% of the nation's commercial activities. The Directorate covers businesses in the entire Lagos Island/Central, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Lekki up to Epe. The coverage area also extends to some parts of Lagos Mainland (Surulere, Yaba, Apapa, Orile-Iganmu, Amuwo-Odofin, Festac, Satellite Town up to Seme border, but excluding Agbara).

The key economic activities in Lagos include telecommunication, aviation, shipping and ports, oil and gas (downstream), real estate, commerce and industry, power, transportation, banking and financial services, power and tourism.

• The telecommunications sector in Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with major emerging market operators (like MTN, Etisalat, Zain, Globacom, Starcomms, Multilink and Vodafone) headquartered in Lagos. The telecommunications industry is the second largest in the country after the oil and gas industry, in terms of revenue generation.
• The commercial and industrial sector is boosted by the presence in the state of the headquarters of multinational conglomerates like Chevron, Shell, Mobil, UAC, Unilever, John Holts, Churchgate, Chagoury, Atrib, Honeywell, Dangote and Flour Mills.
• Sea port/marine. The port of Lagos is the principal port and economic centre of the country. Lagos also doubles as the main hub for the export of goods to land-locked neighbouring countries. About 60% of imports into west and central Africa is through Nigeria's eight major ports, four of which are located in Lagos: Apapa, Tin-can, Roro and Container Terminal.
• The Nigerian financial services industry is predominantly Lagos-based. All the 24 commercial banks operating in the country have their head offices in Lagos. Of the 71 insurance companies registered in Nigeria, 68% have their head offices in Lagos, while virtually all the others have major branch offices in Lagos. Lagos also houses the nation's premier stock exchange, the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

• Dr Yerima L Ngama is the Executive Director in charge of this Directorate.
• The Directorate consists of 154 branches.
• The branches are grouped into 15 Business Development Offices (BDOs).
• The BDOs are headed by Business Development Managers (BDMs), responsible for the coordination as well as initiation of activities that will enhance the Bank's business interest in their areas of coverage.

Branches are strategically located throughout the greater part of the north. The 154 branches in the Directorate render various banking services to the wholesale and large corporates (Abuja, Kaduna and Kano), public sector (Federal, Ministry Department's Agencies, States and Local Governments), retail and consumer banking (especially civil servants). All the 15 BDOs' operations cover the public sector while 14 cover retail. Only four cover corporate banking.

Area covered by North Directorate

Abuja, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Located to the north of the country, the North Directorate is bordered to the west by Benin Republic, to the north by Chad and Niger Republics and the Republic of Camerouns to the east. With a land mass of around 782,480km2 and a population of about 72 million (2006 estimates), the Directorate covers 18 of the 19 northern states, including Abuja, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

• Agriculture (crop production and livestock), mining, general commerce, transportation and road haulage are the dominant economic activities in this region. Agricultural activities in the north revolve around extensive small-scale, diversified and organic farming.
• Mining and solid mineral extraction are key economic activities in the region with states like Plateau and Nassarawa in the forefront. Kogi state is home to iron ore and coal at Itakpe and Okaba. Large deposits of limestone, tin ore, iron ore, kaolin, gold and granite exist across the region.
• Manufacturing industries in the north are relatively limited vis-a-vis those in the South. The formerly thriving textile industry is comatose, few cement factories continue to thrive, while the nation's iron and steel complex and iron ore mining are moribund. A lot more activity takes place in the food and agroallied and processing sector. Successful activity in this sector includes cotton ginneries, seed processing, rice milling, fruit juice manufacturing, oil milling, bottling of spring water, biscuit and confectioneries and household goods.

• Dr Alex Otti is the Executive Director responsible for this Directorate.
• The Directorate consists of 165 branches.
• The branches are grouped into 11 Business Development Offices (BDOs).

Branch locations in the Directorate are strongly correlated with the dispersal of our business interests with the objective of dominating the market and providing overwhelming leadership in every segment we choose to play in.

The South Directorate has supported its various states by leveraging the strength of the FirstBank brand, its balance sheet size and structure in various public private partnership (PPP) initiatives. We have significantly grown our public sector business in the Directorate to a dominant one with thriving relationships in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo, Enugu, and Rivers states. We also provide full banking services to the major corporate and retail customers in the region.

Area covered by South Directorate

Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states.

The South Directorate is bordered to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and to the east by the Republic of Cameroon. The Directorate covers the 11 South-South and South-East states made up of Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states.

• Oil and Gas: Apart from our leadership at the corporate end of the oil and gas market spectrum, we recognised that indigenous players in the industry remain a very high growth area and through the Nigerian content policy, one of national interest. The oil and gas contract finance (OGCF) programme developed by the Bank remains one the most creative structures available in the industry to support indigenous contractors, thus seizing the significant opportunities for business in that segment of the industry.
• Public sector: Most of the states covered in the South Directorate are oil rich states especially in the Niger Delta region. These states are typically the biggest spenders as they struggle to develop weak infrastructure given additional revenue from oil receipts. Through contracts, the public sector drives construction activities, is a huge employer of labour, a strong facilitator of consumption and therefore production. We have provided services to this economic sector leaning on a combination of our network of relationships and intelligently crafted product programs for advance payments guarantees, electronic payment together with various very successful consumer banking products to achieve our market objective of dominance.
• Trading: This is a major economic activity, especially in the South-East region, thus, it is not uncommon to see pockets of light and small manufacturing concerns arising from backward integration. The Directorate is focused on trade transactions to create a healthy mix with its portfolio of project finance deals.

• Mr Kehinde Lawanson is the Executive Director responsible for the West Directorate.
• The Directorate consists of 113 branches.
• The branches are grouped into 14 Business Development Offices (BDOs).

The Directorate is positioning itself to be the bank of First choice in its coverage area by providing the best financial services possible. The branches into which the BDOs are divided provide banking services to customers in the wholesale banking/corporate banking, consumer banking, and public sector business areas. Our presence in the public sector business is concerted and focused as evidenced by the presence of the Directorate in the business of various states. We maintain robust and mutually beneficial relationships with states and local governments in the region.

Area covered by West Directorate

Ekiti, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, and in Lagos State, Isolo, Ikeja, Maryland, Agege and Ikorodu.

The Directorate is situated within a geographic space noted for its high number of urbanised settlements, including Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, and one of the largest cities in sub-Saharan Africa. To the east of the Directorate, Akure and Ondo are noted for the production of cash crops, especially cocoa. To the south, Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode in Ogun state, and in Lagos state, Ikeja, and northern Lagos.

Generally, the predominant economic activities in the Directorate are in the administrative, extractive, manufacturing, additive, agriculture, merchandising and services sectors. This explains the very high density of companies located in the area, ranging from small and medium sized (SMEs) to conglomerates and transnational corporations, requiring partnership with financial institutions like FirstBank for a bouquet of services and products.

Wholesale banking/corporate banking

Wholesale banking/corporate banking business is a major driver of the Directorate's business. We serve a wide range of companies by providing tailored solutions to support our clients' growth aspirations. The Directorate maintains dedicated wholesale banking desks in some designated branches within its coverage space, and these are managed by experienced and highly skilled professionals who ensure that efficient and first-class services are rendered to these highly diversified clients.