Business
FirstBank Holds Fifth Annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week
In furtherance of its continued commitment to impacting the lives of individuals in its host communities across 7 Countries: Nigeria, United Kingdom, Ghana, DRC, Guinea, Sierra Lone, Senegal and Gambia. First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced the Fifth edition of its Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S) week, scheduled for 22- 27 August 2022.
The event which is themed: “Kindness…. A Way of Life” reflects the single-minded purpose to make a difference in the world by inspiring and institutionalising kindness. SPARK is an acronym for Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness and it is a values-based initiative designed to raise consciousness that we can choose to be kind.
The FirstBank CR&S Week is a dedicated week designed to offer opportunities for employees to give their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic approach. The CR&S Week will offer employees opportunities to give their time & resources to defined causes. The Week’s activities are an aspect of the Bank’s Employee Giving & Volunteering Program, which was instituted to encourage employees to give back to the community as well as inculcate in them the integral corporate culture of giving.
The Bank held the maiden edition of the CR&S week in 2017 with a focus mainly on three key initiatives/activities which were giving and visits to orphanages/less privileged homes/IDPs; career counselling day; and Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) initiative – which is now Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness. The CR&S week has become more successful in subsequent years and it is fast becoming a household name in the Bank’s host economies.
There are five main activities to be implemented during this year’s CR&S Week in Nigeria, FBNBank UK and across the SSA markets. These activities include SPARK APP, Kind Comments Day, Visits to orphanage/less privileged homes, SPARK School Engagement, and Women Economic Empowerment. The major highlight of the Week will be the launch of the SPARK APP. The app is strategic in the Bank’s journey to institutionalize “A Day of Kindness” on a national level, and globally position the Bank as a Corporate Citizen in leveraging new media to drive sustainability practices.
The SPARK App is a sensational application designed to have individuals abreast with the act of kindness through various kindness-based quotes and inspirational phrases that will be displayed on one’s phone screen, especially when the phone is idle.
Kind Comments Day is an initiative that focuses on inspiring and encouraging everyone to be deliberate with the use of kind words in relating or interacting with anyone.
In addition, with Women Empowerment, the Bank will support, VVF patients in need of surgical operations and also empower them with vocational skills as they integrate back into the society.
The SPARK Schools Engagement will be implemented through the National Competition of JAN SPARK School Integration. The activity is aimed at rewarding the various participating students, following their SPARK activity, Through the partnership with JAN, SPARK is integrated into the JAN Company Program, where students are taught the values of SPARK. The SPARK schools’ competition has been tied with Company programme regional competition,ensuring they imbibed the values taught during the training. One of the highlights of the event is the visit to orphanage homes and the less privileged, across various cities which will be carried out by volunteers from the Bank.
Speaking on the week, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “The CR&S Week is another opportunity to strengthen our commitment and extend our reach beyond the communities where we operate in Nigeria and across our subsidiaries. Over time, our goal has stayed the same, to create platforms through which our positive impact is felt.”
“For us in the FirstBank Group, beyond saying that we care, we take a step further and show it,” he concluded.
Through the years of commemorating its annual CR&S Week, FirstBank has impacted lives across its host communities in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and its SSA subsidiaries. These impacts comprise the partnership with Lagos State Government on the provision of a Primary Health Centre at Ijedodo Community, Lagos State; engagements with over 60 charities, Non-governmental organisations, orphanages, correctional centres, schools and Internally Displayed Persons (IDP) Camps which resulted in touching the lives of over 20,000 underprivileged individuals in the society including widows, orphans and children with disabilities.
Sterling Bank, on Wednesday, announced the removal of account maintenance fees on all personal accounts, describing the decision as a “gift” to Nigerians in celebration of the country’s 65th Independence Day.
The decision, which follows the abolition of transfer fees on local online transactions in April 2025, was outlined in a statement shared by the bank. The bank said the policy would allow customers to keep more of their earnings, framing it as a step toward financial freedom.
“Every fee we remove is one less barrier between our customers and true financial freedom. This was the rationale behind eliminating transfer fees in April, and it is the same principle we uphold as we eliminate account maintenance fees,” Sterling Bank’s Managing Director, Abubakar Suleiman, said.
The statement highlighted that in 2024 alone, tier-1 banks in Nigeria earned over ₦650 billion from account maintenance and e-banking charges. “This decision cuts at the heart of a revenue model that has long cost Nigerian customers dearly,” the bank noted.
Obinna Ukachukwu, Sterling’s Growth Executive for Consumer and Business Banking, said the initiative was intended to strengthen long-term relationships with customers. “This initiative is about building lasting relationships that fuel sustainable growth. We put transparency and customer value first, and in doing so, we are building a foundation that serves both our customers and Sterling’s future,” he said.
Sterling Bank also framed the removal of fees as part of a broader strategy to make banking more inclusive and customer-focused. The April 2025 transfer fee abolition had already eliminated charges on all local online transactions, easing costs for individuals and small businesses. At the time, Ukachukwu described the move as a values-driven decision aimed at ensuring fair access to money.
“Access to your own money shouldn’t come with a penalty. This is more than a financial decision—it’s about redefining banking to put customers first,” Ukachukwu said.
The latest move aligns with Sterling’s positioning as a bank committed to transparency, customer value, and digital innovation, and it signals a continued effort to reshape banking practices in Nigeria.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has reported a profit before tax of N600.9 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2025.
The figure is contained in the company’s audited consolidated and separate financial statements, which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Group and the London Stock Exchange.
The group stated that the performance was driven by growth in core earnings lines, including interest income and fee income, which rose year-on-year by 31.5% and 33.0%, respectively.
It explained that the growth helped to cushion the absence of N493.01 billion in fair value gains recorded in 2024, resulting in a 40 per cent decline.
GTCO stated that its total assets stood at N16.7 trillion, while shareholders’ funds totaled N3.0 trillion during the review period.
It added that its balance sheet remained strong, diversified, and de-risked across operating jurisdictions, as well as its payments, pension, and funds management businesses.
The group disclosed that its Capital Adequacy Ratio closed at 36.2 per cent, while asset quality improved with IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans declining to 3.2 per cent.
At the group level, Stage 3 loans stood at 4.5 per cent, compared with 5.2 per cent in December 2024.
Similarly, the cost of risk improved to 1.7 per cent from 4.9 per cent recorded in December 2024.
The company stated that its net loan book increased by 20.5 per cent, from N2.79 trillion in December 2024 to N3.36 trillion in June 2025.
Deposit liabilities also increased by 16.6 per cent from N10.40 trillion to N12.13 trillion during the same period.
The board of GTCO approved an interim dividend of N1.00 per share for the half year ended June 30, 2025.
Commenting on the results, Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer, said the half-year performance reflected business strength and progress towards building a diversified financial services ecosystem.
He said beyond last year’s extraordinary one-off gains, the group was now driving sustainable growth with recurring earnings that demonstrated the resilience and scalability of its model.
Mr Agbaje noted that continued investment in technology, particularly in core banking upgrades, was delivering stronger uptime, efficiency, and greater capacity to scale with a growing customer base.
He added that across banking, funds management, pension, and payments, GTCO was leveraging a de-risked balance sheet to reinforce its market position while maintaining strategic flexibility. According to him, this foundation positions the group to seize emerging opportunities and deliver lasting value for all stakeholders.
Mr Agbaje stressed that GTCO had continued to post some of the best metrics in Nigeria’s financial services industry in terms of key financial ratios. He said the group recorded Pre-Tax Return on Equity of 60.4 per cent, Pre-Tax Return on Assets of 10.6 per cent, Capital Adequacy Ratio of 36.2 per cent, and Cost-to-Income ratio of 30.1 per cent.
NAN
In line with its commitments of promoting sports and developmental initiatives at all levels, First Bank of Nigeria Limited is partnering the organizers of the first of its kind E1 Lagos GP an all-electric powerboat racing championship, set to hold between the 3rd and 5th of October 2025.
Disclosing this at the E1 Lagos GP Stakeholder Immersion session in Lagos recently, Olayinka Ijabiyi, the Acting Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communication of FirstBank, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting initiatives that engender human development across the country while cementing legacies.
“Our involvement in the E1 Lagos GP is about driving legacy and enabling the passions and aspirations that unite Nigerians. We are a bank that has been in business for over 131 years and we recognize that sports drives us as a country, which is why through our First@Sports initiative, we continue to invest in platforms that inspire and elevate our people. We have been supporting legacy sport tournaments like the Georgian Polo Cup which we have hosted for 105 years, and the Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship for 64 years now,” Ijabiyi said.
With the event slated for the start of the fourth quarter, FirstBank is aligning its partnership with the annual DecemberIssaVybe initiative, a campaign that celebrates the vibrant spirit of Nigerians during the festive season by curating unforgettable experiences that blend culture, entertainment and lifestyle. “FirstBank is deeply woven into the fabric of society and the lives of our customers. As presenting partner, we are creating meaningful touchpoints with customers and prospects, offering them a world-class experience of relaxation and celebration that captures the true essence of Lagos during the festive season,” he added.
Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, who was also at the event, described the initiative as an event that will grow not just the sports but also showcase Lagos’s vibrant culture, dynamic people, and global relevance, while commending FirstBank for their support.
The teams owned by notable stars like Tom Brady, LeBron James, Didier Drogba, Will Smith, Marc Anthony, Steve Aoki, Rafael Nadal will compete in the Lagos leg before the 2025 season of the competition terminates in Miami in the United States.
