Dr Adesola Adeduntan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the First Bank Holding of Nigeria (FBHN), says the bank’s growth rate in the first half of 2023 can be attributed to the support from its customers.
Adeduntan said this during the bank’s Corporate Customer Engagement Forum on Friday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that forum serves as a platform for discussing important issues that are crucial to the growth and success of businesses.
The forum also involved discussion on the the Nigeria economic outlook after 100 days of a change in government and updates on developments in the financial landscape.
According to Adeduntan, FirstBank has been awarded the Best Corporate Bank in Western Africa 2023 by Global Banking and Finance Awards for the second year in a row, among other global recognitions.
He noted that the bank’s released financials for the first half of 2023 further demonstrate the bank’s consistent upward growth, emphasising its commitment to becoming the preferred bank in Africa.
“Our recently released H1 2023 financials also attest to the consistent upward leap that has become a second nature to us in FirstBank, accentuating our commitment to becoming Africa’s bank of first choice.
“For the records, the bank made an impressive, record-breaking Profit Before Tax of N188.8 billion, up 214.6 per cent year-on-year compared to N60 billion same period 2022.
“Also, total assets climaxing to N13.6 trillion, year-to-date and customers’ deposit growing to N8.8 trillion, up 26.9 per cent year-to-date, amongst several other remarkable indices.
“This is a laudable feat that has been made possible by all our customers, partners and stakeholders and I thank you for your unflinching confidence reposed in our brand,’’ Adeduntan added.
Dr ‘Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd (BAA Consult), commeded the management of Firstbank for effectively growing its business in spite of economic challenges, like Naira depreciation, occasioned by the exchange rate unification.
“I was excited when the group executive mentioned the growth rate of Firstbank in the first half of this year compared to last year’s.
“That means Firstbank has been effectively managed, which is credit to management. It simply means that the bank’s results grew faster than the depreciation of the Naira, by that unified exchange rate.
“That is the challenge we all face today to grow our businesses faster, not only by the rate of growth of the economy but to take into account other variables that define macroeconomic stability,’’ he said.