Gbenga Ajibola, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the former FBN Bank now First Bank The Gambia, on Friday 31 March 2023 said at the unveiling of the name change: "Our parent company, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, West Africa’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has announced a phased corporate name change of its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa.
However, he added that the first set of subsidiaries that are effecting the name change in alignment with the parent bank - FirstBank are FBNBank United Kingdom, FBNBank Sierra Leone, FBNBank Gambia, and FBNBank Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to MD Ajibola, effective 31 March 2023, these subsidiaries are now known and addressed as FirstBank UK, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank Gambia, and FirstBank DRC.
Moreover, he disclosed, the FirstBank subsidiaries in Ghana, Senegal, and Guinea will be next in the phased implementation of the name change project.
“The name change is being implemented to align with the parent brand to leverage the strong heritage and brand equity built by First Bank of Nigeria Limited in its 129 years of existence as a leading bank and foremost financial services provider in the industry to the advantage of our customers globally,” CEO Ajibola said.
“This change will further ensure brand clarity, and safeguard brand uniformity and consistency across all the respective markets where the FirstBank Group does business.”
He said the subsidiaries’ name change will also entrench the perception of the Bank as a monolithic brand and enhance the synergy optimitisation opportunities across the globe.
Since the bank's establishment in 1894, he pointed out, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management, and leadership.
He stated: "Over the years, our parent company, FirstBank, has led the financing of private investments in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes."
However, he noted that with the bank's global reach, the FirstBank Group provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities available in Africa and beyond, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
"At FirstBank Gambia, we expanded our branch network in March 2022 with the opening of a new branch in Brikama by the Box Bar Mini Stadium," he said, reassuring all and sundry of continued excellent services and beneficial products.
"We want to reassure the general public of our commitment to providing excellent services to all our customers through diversified product suites, and competitive pricing, as well as passionate and customer-centric staff who support our goals to impact positively on indigenous businesses and institutions."
Speaking on the name change, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, CEO of FirstBank Group, said: “The name change which coincides with FirstBank’s 129th founding anniversary (31 March 2023) is indeed a milestone reflective of our resolve to continuously provide the gold standards of excellence and value as we put our customers first.”
He posited that the new identity of the subsidiaries contributes to an enhanced brand presence and helps “our customers and other stakeholders better appreciate” the value of the diversified product suites, competitive pricing and large business networks the FirstBank Group offers.
He outlined some of the offers, saying: "These include our commitment to boosting cross-border businesses including trade and investment opportunities that are essential to enhancing trade relations among countries, thereby strengthening the economies of host communities and reducing poverty.”
