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FCMB Emerge As The Best SME Bank In Africa And Nigeria

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FCMB - Investors King

Nigeria’s leading lender, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has emerged as Best SME Bank in Africa and Best SME Bank in Nigeria at the Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Regional Awards on the 27th of August 2021.

The SME friendly bank beat all other Nigerian and African banks to win national and continental honours. It emerged as Best SME Bank in Africa for the second time at the rigorous, prestigious, and transparent country-level honour programme for consumer financial services and technology in the Middle East and Africa.

Commenting on the awards, the Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun, said, “We are excited to win two awards this year, especially the Best SME Bank in Africa, for the second year. This shows that we are meeting the specific needs of customers in this segment and are on a growth trajectory. The awards will inspire us to further expand the frontiers of our innovation and go the extra mile to provide solutions that consistently enhance customer experience.” 

Thanking the Asian Banker for the awards, Mrs Edun dedicated them to the Bank’s SME customers. She added that First City Monument Bank would continue to offer exceptional services, including funding and capacity building to small businesses.

Remarkably, the Bank has taken the lead in digitisation by automating its lending process for SMEs through the FCMB Quickloans platform. Through this channel, the lender has disbursed over N100billion in loans to entrepreneurs. It processes over 25,000 digital loans, with disbursements hitting N9billion in a month in the third quarter of 2021.

In addition, the Bank provides market intelligence and technical assistance support to small businesses, access to intervention funds in partnership with Development Financial Institutions, as well as provision of credit facilities to mitigate the credit risk and collateral gaps experienced in lending to SMEs. 

So far, the Bank has provided over N23 billion loan guarantee support to SMEs with inadequate collateral or those in the start-up stage.

Over 30 financial institutions and technology companies from 10 countries in the Middle East and Africa historically send in entries for adjudication at the annual Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Regional Awards. Apart from its panel of international assessors, the judging process is supplemented by BankQuality, a premier rating site for financial service providers and customers. 

First City Monument Bank (www.fcmb.com) is a member of FCMB Group Plc, Nigeria’s leading and most diversified financial holding company with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. The Bank has built a strong base in various sectors of the nation’s economy by consistently offering cutting-edge solutions to its customers across segments. 

Having transformed successfully into a retail banking and wealth management-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself through innovation and the delivery of exceptional services.

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Businessinsider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

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Banking Sector

Safaricom, Access Holdings Forge Partnership to Revolutionize Remittance Corridor in Africa

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Safaricom, the leading telecommunications company in Kenya, has entered into a strategic partnership with Access Holdings, spearheaded by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

The collaboration aims to revolutionize the remittance corridor between East and West Africa, marking a significant step towards enhancing financial inclusion and empowering millions of individuals across the continent.

The partnership comes on the heels of Access Holdings’ recent acquisition of the National Bank of Kenya Limited, signaling the company’s ambitious expansion into the East African market.

Leveraging Safaricom’s extensive network and expertise in mobile money through M-Pesa, which currently dominates the mobile money market in Kenya, the alliance seeks to create seamless and efficient channels for remittance transactions.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the driving force behind Access Holdings, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, highlighting its potential to transcend traditional boundaries and foster greater economic connectivity between East and West Africa.

He highlighted the fusion of collective expertise and resources between the two entities, underlining their shared commitment to driving financial inclusion and empowerment across the continent.

The partnership holds promise for addressing the challenges faced by millions of Africans in accessing affordable and reliable remittance services.

By connecting more than 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across eight countries, the collaboration aims to facilitate over $1 billion in daily transaction value, significantly boosting the flow of remittances within and outside Africa.

With the first phase of the collaboration focusing on key markets such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania, stakeholders anticipate a transformative impact on the remittance landscape, paving the way for greater intracontinental trade and economic integration in line with the objectives of initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

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Banking Sector

EFCC Urged to Repatriate Recoveries to NDIC for Depositors’ Relief

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The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has made a fervent plea to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to expedite the repatriation of recovered funds to its coffers to facilitate the timely reimbursement of depositors affected by bank failures.

During a recent meeting between the Managing Director of NDIC, Bello Hassan, and the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, at the NDIC headquarters in Abuja, Hassan stressed the importance of enhanced collaboration between the two agencies in recovering depositors’ funds lost due to bank failures.

Hassan emphasized that the return of recoveries made by the EFCC on behalf of the NDIC would significantly contribute to the prompt reimbursement of affected depositors.

He commended the EFCC for its unwavering efforts in combating corruption and financial crimes, highlighting its crucial role as a key member of the Taskforce on Implementation of the Failed Banks Act chaired by the NDIC.

The NDIC boss also highlighted the existing partnership between the two organizations, which led to the establishment of the NDIC Help Desk at the EFCC in 2022.

He disclosed that several high-profile cases referred to the EFCC were currently under investigation.

In response, Olukoyede reiterated the EFCC’s commitment to collaborating closely with the NDIC to combat financial crimes and safeguard the integrity of the Nigerian banking sector.

He pledged to intensify efforts to repatriate recovered funds promptly, acknowledging the interconnectedness between criminal activities and bank failures.

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Banking Sector

FBN Holdings Announces Key Director Appointments

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Femi Otedola

FBN Holdings PLC, a leading financial services group in Nigeria, has disclosed significant appointments within its Board of Directors.

FBN Holdings Plc Appointments:

  1. Mr. Olusola Adeeyo – Non-Executive Director: With an illustrious career spanning over four decades in Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Advisory, and transformational leadership, Mr. Olusola Adeeyo brings a wealth of experience to his new role. He is currently the Chairman of Astral Waters Limited, a prominent water bottling and delivery company licensed by NAFDAC. Mr. Adeeyo’s extensive background includes founding management team involvement in building and nurturing Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited (IBTC), now Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.
  2. Mr. Viswanathan Shankar – Independent Non-Executive Director: With over 44 years of global financial sector experience, Mr. Viswanathan Shankar brings a wealth of expertise to FBN Holdings. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Gateway Partners, a private equity and alternative investments manager focused on dynamic growth markets. Previously, Mr. Shankar served as CEO – Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Americas, and was a member of the global board of Standard Chartered Plc.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) Appointments:

  1. Mrs. Remilekun Adetola Odunlami – Non-Executive Director: Mrs. Odunlami boasts over 30 years of extensive experience in enterprise risk management, compliance, and general management. She has held leadership positions at CitiBank Nigeria Limited and served as Executive Director, Chief Risk Officer at FirstBank.
  2. Mr. Anil Dua and Mrs. Fatima Ibrahim Ali – Independent Non-Executive Directors: Mr. Dua brings over 50 years of vast experience in portfolio and risk management, while Mrs. Ali has over 15 years of experience in strategic business planning, marketing communications, and socio-economic development.

These appointments underscore FBN Holdings’ commitment to strengthening its governance structure and positioning for sustained growth in Nigeria’s financial.

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