January 07, (THEWILL) – The Group Managing Director of FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Dr Sola Adeduntan has reiterated the bank’s commitment to the highest standard of excellence in banking and to sustain its leadership status as Nigeria’s premier financial services institution.
He also urged the small and medium enterprise clients to continue to count on the bank’s support, especially at this time of economic challenges plaguing every sector of business activities, noting that the bank will not play down on its goal of excellent quality service delivery.
Dr Adeduntan made these disclosures in a recent interview with a national newspaper in Lagos during which he spoke on a range of issues, including proffering solutions to the lingering foreign exchange crisis plaguing the economy, as well as how to insulate the Nigerian economy from the fallouts of the current hostilities at the international scene.
According to him, it is natural for banks to understand their role as catalysts of economic development and that FirstBank is ready to collaborate with the government in achieving this objective.
He said, “FirstBank’s SME clients can continue to count on us to listen to them through this rough economic patch and offer necessary cushions that are within our control as a Bank. As a Bank that is woven into the fabric of society, we have no other option than this.”
On the role of the banks to boost economic activities through lending to the real sector, Adeduntan noted that FirstBank remains on the forefront.
He said, “Over the years, Nigerian banks have sufficiently demonstrated their commitment to supporting the real sector of the economy. For example, as of H1 2023, the value of loans disbursed to customers by just seven Nigerian banks stood at almost NGN23 trillion.
” As of September 2023, FirstBank alone has grown its loan book to customers by over N1 trillion over the December 2022 closing position. This is a clear testament to FirstBank’s ongoing commitment to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
As bankers, we fully understand and have embraced our catalytic role as agents of economic transformation. In addition, banks deliberately pursue a diversified earning asset portfolio strategy. As such, lending to the real sector will continue to offer much-needed diversification for banks’ overall portfolio health.”
On addressing the prevailing foreign exchange challenges, the MD said, “I would also like to note that the Nigerian authorities should enhance the ability of the non-oil sector of the economy to generate sizeable revenues to support the government’s expenditure. This will help to reduce the perennial over-reliance on crude oil revenues.”
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