First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Nigeria’s premier and reputable banking franchise, has reaffirmed its leadership position post-consolidation, with a rating from foremost global rating agency, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P), which assigned the Bank the international Long-term rating of “BB-”, the best rating any Nigerian company could obtain, being the sovereign rating of the country.

With this, FirstBank remains a national icon after over a century of operations with significant changes in the operating environment and the competitive landscape.

The ratings of FirstBank, in which it was also assigned a Short-term rating of “B” and a stable outlook, reflect the Bank’s strong market position as Nigeria’s leading financial services provider with robust funding and liquidity profile, sound risk governance, and the benefits derived from its expansion into the fast-developing retail banking market. 

S&P stated that FirstBank’s “position as one of Nigeria’s leading financial services providers is largely due to its extensive branch network and strong franchise, which has also afforded the Bank a robust funding and liquidity profile”.

“The high credit and operational risks associated with operating in Nigeria are partially mitigated by FirstBank’s sound risk governance, which is progressing toward international standards”, the Agency emphasized.

The stable outlook, according to S&P, reflects the opinion that FirstBank will maintain a leading position in the Nigerian banking industry, widening its franchise and carving a strong position in retail banking.

It is remarkable that this is the second time FirstBank is being assigned a foreign currency rating, otherwise known as the international rating. Fitch Ratings, one of the world’s foremost rating agencies, had assigned the Bank the international Long-term and Short-term ratings of “B+” and “B” respectively.

In addition, Fitch also affirmed the Bank’s National Long-term and Short term ratings at “A+(nga)” and “F1(nga)”, respectively, the Short-term rating being the highest attainable by any institution.

These ratings are coming on the heels of the National Long-term and Short-term ratings of AA and A1+ assigned the Bank by Global Credit Rating Company Limited, one of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s licensed rating agencies. The Short-term rating is also the highest attainable by any institution.

Overall, FirstBank remains the industry leader and a major private sector participant in the country’s economic re-engineering, having distinguished itself for over a century as the leading financial institution and a major contributor to the economic advancement and development of Nigeria.

This much has been demonstrated by the Bank’s recognition both locally and internationally amongst which are the internationally reputed Global Finance magazine’s awards as The Best Overall Bank, Best Trade Finance Bank and Best Foreign Exchange Bank, presented during the last IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC.

FirstBank is indeed a financial supermarket, as it boasts of nine subsidiaries, including a full-fledged bank in the United Kingdom, FBN Bank (UK) Limited, as well as a representative office in South Africa. This global outlook is in sync with its strategy of being a national icon and an international player.