Article Summary
- First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced a phased name change for its subsidiaries in Africa and the UK, with the aim of aligning them with the parent company and benefiting from its strong heritage and brand equity.
- The name change is expected to enhance the quality-of-service delivery, resulting in better brand clarity, uniformity, and consistency across all the markets where the bank operates.
- First Bank’s expansion further afield is expected to have a symbiotic result for the host countries and the parent company, attracting more and better customers and identifying with one of the strongest bank brands in Africa.
African forest elephants roam the dense rainforests of West and Central Africa where they subsist largely on a diet of fruit. These elephants shape the forests by dispersing fruit and seeds, browsing, and creating an extensive trail network. In doing so, they enrich it.
Also, according to World Wildlife, the diet of forest elephants is dominated by fruit. Elephants play a crucial role in dispersing many tree species, particularly the seeds of large trees with high carbon content. With the advantage of promoting the natural expansive benefits of nature, they are therefore referred to as the ‘mega-gardener of the forest’.
In the same vein, the corporate elephant, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has through the years, extended its services to new forage with the intent of shaping topnotch banking services in West, and Central Africa and further afield, with the result of a symbiosis.
Recently, the Bank announced the brand and corporate identity name change of all its subsidiaries to align with the parent company, FirstBank. To be implemented in phasis, its subsidiaries in Africa and the United Kingdom were announced to bear new names.
FBN Bank UK, FBN Bank Sierra Leone, FBN Bank Gambia and FBN Bank DRC are the first set of subsidiaries affecting the name alignment. They are now known and addressed as FirstBank UK, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank Gambia and FirstBank DRC. The Ghana, Senegal and Guinea subsidiaries will be next in the phased name change implementation.
The name change is implemented to align the subsidiaries with the parent brand and to enjoy the strong heritage and brand equity built by FirstBank Nigeria in its 129 years of banking leadership. It is expected that this will further enhance the quality-of-service delivery resulting in better brand clarity, uniformity and consistency across all the markets where the Bank operates.
FirstBank’s expansion further afield goes with benefits to host countries. For example, The First Global Transfer (FGT) initiative is specifically designed to ensure safe, timely, and improved efficiency in the transfer of funds across the network of FirstBank subsidiaries in Africa. The FGT is not restricted to FirstBank and FBNBank Customers; it is also open to every individual resident in the country the funds’ transfer originates from.
At the time of its launch, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank Group had stated that the customer is influenced by the technological advances shaping businesses across various industries and the FGT initiative is one of those advancements created to impact every individual in host communities in Africa, whilst promoting the ease and swift transfer of money from one country to another for business or personal activities.
“With the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 1 January 2021, the FGT is indeed very timely as it will play an essential role in stimulating business activities across borders, thereby impacting the growth and development of the continent.”
The local rebranding in the host countries would certainly have a symbiotic result for the host countries and the parent company. Likely, FirstBank will attract more and better customers, as the name change will be a differentiating factor to boost the value of the company and attract top talent.
On the flip side, host countries can enjoy identifying with one of the strongest bank brands in Africa, with a proven track record of over 129 years and counting, of providing state-of-the-art financial services.
Leveraging the rich heritage of FirstBank, the longevity of these subsidiaries is one to expect as only in 2022, FirstBank was a proud father of a fortieth-year-old institution in FirstBank UK (then FBNBank UK)
A leading financial inclusion services provider, FirstBank Group is committed to its nation-building goal. It has taken giant performance strides on its unique growth trajectory as it continues to build distinctive capabilities through partnerships and the constant drive to reinvent itself.
This performance is evidenced in the numerous awards and recognitions bestowed on the institution. These awards include Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2023 by Global Finance Awards; Best Corporate Bank in Western Africa 2022 by Global Banking & Finance; Best CSR Bank Africa by International Business Magazine in 2022; and ranked as number one in Nigeria in terms of Overall Performance; Profitability; Efficiency and Return on Risk by the Top 100 African Bank Rankings 2022 released by The Banker Magazine from the stables of Financial Times.
In addition, in Euromoney Market Leaders, an independent global assessment of the leading financial service providers conducted by Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc., the Bank was crowned: Market Leader in Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR); Market Leader in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG); Highly Regarded in Corporate Banking and Digital Solutions and Notable in SME Banking.
With its doggedness in surviving various economic shocks and fluctuations through over a century, sustained approach to impacting its stakeholders and continued business successes – particularly in recent years, under the watchful eyes and leadership of Dr Adesola Adeduntan, the value and impact of the brand name change on the subsidiaries cannot be overemphasized.
Leveraging the giant strides and impact FirstBank has had since 1894 in Nigeria, then the continent and world at large, the subsidiaries in the FirstBank Group are on course to take after their parent company as they impact their respective host communities with a sustained approach to leaving a legacy.
