FirstBank grows African presence with FBNBank Guinea

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings has completed the acquisition of International Commercial Bank (ICB),Guinea, which has been renamed FBNBank Guinea.

The launch of this subsidiary of First Bank is coming on the heels of the agreement reached by FirstBank and International Commercial Bank Financial Group Holdings Ag (ICBFGH) for the acquisition of 100% equity interest in ICB Guinea.

According to the bank, the coming on stream of FBNBank Guinea further consolidated FirstBank’s position as the largest corporate and retail banking financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) with presence in Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Senegal, and Democratic Republic of Congo as well as presence in the UK and Representative Offices in Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi and Beijing.

“The expansion represents FirstBank’s strategic objective to maintain significant market share, expand its pan-African footprint and diversify earnings while delivering value to shareholders.

“FBNBank Guinea is strategically positioned to foster greater collaboration and provide better service for the country’s public and private sector clients, and the general public at large.

The Bank leverages FirstBank’s international network, business expertise, which is part of the diversified synergies of the FBN Group to offer innovative, convenient and secure banking services to its customers and better seize the emerging opportunities in the local market,” the bank stated in a statement made available to Hallmark.

Speaking on this development, the GMD/CEO of FirstBank, Bisi Onasanya, said, “The launch of FBNBank Guinea fulfils one of the critical stages of our ambition to steadily broaden and build a more diverse footprint across Africa.