Business
FirstHoldCo: Reinforcing ESG, Sustainability Initiatives As It Rebrands
In a world where approximately 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years, 45% within five years, 65% within ten years, and only 25% make it to 15 years or more (according to the US Bureau of Statistics), any business that has crossed 15 years should be sharing insights on survival and success.
But what about businesses that have lasted twice that long? Or a financial services group that has thrived for over 130 years, especially in Africa, where business survival rates are likely lower than those statistics from the Global North? Such a group has certainly earned the right to teach masterclasses on business longevity.
First HoldCo Plc (FirstHoldCo), recently rebranded from FBN Holdings Plc, exemplifies sustainable business practices. A well-diversified group, it is one of Africa’s largest financial services organisations, offering innovative financial solutions through its subsidiaries in commercial banking, asset management, capital markets, securities, trusteeship, and insurance brokerage. FirstHoldCo ensures strategic coordination and synergy among its subsidiaries to deliver long-term value for stakeholders.
Retaining the legacy strengths and experience of FBN Holdings Plc, FirstHoldCo ensures that its subsidiaries enhance positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts while minimising or eliminating negative ones. This includes managing ESG risks in the workplace, marketplace, community, and environment, with the institutional capability to turn risks into opportunities.
For example, ESG risk management enhances credit and investment decision-making, de-risking processes for subsidiaries such as FirstBank and FBNQuest. It also strengthens social relationships with the communities in which these subsidiaries operate.
ESG and sustainability may be buzzwords for some corporations seeking to appear politically correct, but at FirstHoldCo, they are integral to its identity. The company is self-driven in aligning its strategy and operations with ESG principles and setting new sustainability benchmarks for financial services in Nigeria.
FirstHoldCo’ s flagship subsidiaries, FirstBank and FBNQuest, integrate ESG risks into their products, services, and offerings from the ideation stage through to development and launch. This approach drives responsible lending and investment practices, enabling the group to leverage ESG market opportunities while promoting sustainable socio-economic growth.
FirstHoldCo also prioritises people empowerment, fostering a work environment rooted in equal opportunities, diversity, and inclusion. A notable achievement is bridging the diversity gap, reaching a 40% female to 60% male employee ratio in 2023, one year ahead of its 2024 target.
The group also supports the communities where its subsidiaries operate, ensuring its impact resonates positively. Since 2017, it has implemented the SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness) initiative and Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week. In 2023, these initiatives impacted 60,000 lives through outreaches to 60 orphanages, 20 schools, and hospitals across Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, The Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom. Donations included consumables, computers, clean water projects, school renovations, wheelchairs, and cash. Employees committed over 27,000 volunteer hours to these initiatives.
In 2023, FirstBank reinforced its commitment to empowering women through FirstGem, a financial product supporting women-led businesses. Over N36 billion in loans were disbursed at a single-digit interest rate of 9%. Additionally, its Agency Banking business, FirstMonie, expanded its female agent network to over 55,000.
Inclusion remains a key focus, with FirstBank enhancing accessibility for physically challenged customers in 234 locations, making 25 branches fully accessible and improving access at 209 others. It also expanded the SPARK initiative to institutions like the Bethesda School of the Blind and the Down Syndrome Foundation in Lagos.
FirstBank operates an Environmental, Social, and Governance Management System (ESGMS) to drive responsible lending and minimize ESG risks. In 2023, this system was enhanced to ensure real-time transparency in corporate credit screenings. That year, 2,239 credit transactions worth N4.236 trillion were assessed for ESG risks.
To strengthen ESG compliance, FirstBank collaborates with development partners such as British International Investment, the African Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Proparco, a French development finance institution. Its partnership with Proparco is crucial for integrating climate initiatives into business strategy. This project enhances its understanding of financed emissions and positions it for climate financing and investment opportunities.
This initiative will help FirstBank reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mitigate exposure to physical and transition risks, and strengthen climate adaptation efforts. It also reinforces its market competitiveness as an ESG leader committed to a low-carbon economy.
As part of its commitment to decarbonisation, FirstHoldCo’ s FirstBank actively engages in reforestation and afforestation through partnerships focused on carbon dioxide (CO2) removal. In 2023, it pledged to plant 50,000 trees by 2025 in collaboration with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF). That year, it planted 1,000 trees at the Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos; Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja; and Federal Government Girls College, Calabar. By the following year, it had planted an additional 30,000 trees, bringing the total to 31,000.
FirstBank also drives thought leadership in climate finance, promoting knowledge on carbon mitigation and climate adaptation. A notable effort was a webinar themed ‘Harnessing Climate Finance Opportunities in Nigeria,’ held in partnership with the Sustainability Practitioners Institute of Nigeria (SPIN). The event featured prominent ESG and sustainability experts such as Professor Kenneth Amaeshi, Dr. Muntaqa Umaru-Sadiq, and Carina Dunker, underscoring FirstBank’s commitment to advancing climate finance discussions.
With so much achieved and ongoing ESG/sustainability initiatives, what is the greatest impact of ESG at FirstHoldCo?
For the group, it is the net positive effect on the communities where its subsidiaries operate. For individuals, it is the tangible benefits from its financial solutions and CSR initiatives. For businesses, it is the sustainable practices FirstHoldCo champions, setting a standard for responsible corporate leadership.
This article is contributed By A. Ezekiel
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.
