First Bank of Nigeria Limited was recently presented with the Oil and Gas Banker of Year 2019 award at the Patrons’ Dinner and Industry Awards of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit held recently at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
The four-day event, comprising conference and award dinner, is acclaimed to be Nigeria’s Government official platform for the petroleum industry gathering which has evolved to become Africa’s premier business and technology conference for not just oil and gas but for other industries in the economy, notably; maritime, automobile, banking and finance, power (electricity), pipelines, LNG, infrastructure, engineering and construction amongst others.
Speaking on the award, the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said, “we take pride in this recognition, as it represents the nation’s identification with our leading role in promoting the growth of the oil and gas industry. We remain steadfast on being the financial partner of first choice to Nigerians and, indeed across Africa as we collectively strive towards the continued growth of the economy at large”
The event had in attendance; Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, represented by Mrs. Bashirat Odunewu, the Bank’s Group Executive, Energy & Infrastructure as a panelist to deliberate the topic “What are the key challenges when it comes to managing risk and generate sustainable long-term in-country value development environment”. Other speakers in the panel were Mrs. Olayemi Anyanechi, Managing Director, Partners Sefton Fross; Bank Anthony Okoroafor, Chairman, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN); Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources; and Patrick Olinma, Executive Director, Oil & Gas Commercial, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd.
Over 5000 individuals and Corporate bodies from across 43 countries including; Dr. Sun Xiansheng, Secretary, General, International Energy Forum (IEF); Jean-Marc Thystère Tchicaya, Minister of Hydrocarbons, Republic of the Congo; Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, OPEC Governor for Nigeria; Jens FrolichHolte, State Secretary, (International Development) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Carri Lockhart, SVP Portfolio and Partner Operated Development and Production International Equinor; Gabriel Mbaga Obiong Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons Republic of Equatorial Guinea and Magda Chambriand, Former CEO, National Agency of Petroleum Natural Gas and Biofuels Government of Brazil amongst others, participated in the event.
FirstBank has over the years supported public and private players in the oil and gas industry which has been the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, post-independence. With its “Oil and Gas Contract Finance products”, the Bank finances the Oil & Gas value-chain by providing Advisory/Agency services, Acquisition Finance/Reserve based lending to indigenous oil producing companies, trade Finance for crude oil export and refined product import and contract finance for oil service companies ranging from simple hospitality to complex turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction, amongst other tailor-made treasury and cash management solutions.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading banking services solutions provider in Nigeria for over 125 years.
With over 750 business locations and 44,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 15 million customers. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
The Bank has been nimble at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such milestone in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 8.5million people on its USSD banking service through the nationally renowned *894# banking service and over 3 million people on Firstmobile platform.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is to always put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
