Business
THE SMDP is an intensive skill development programme structured to enhance core
leadership and business competencies of selected senior management staff within the
Bank and 20 successful participants were graduated in the recently concluded fourth
edition.
SMDP is one of the three core leadership programmes aimed at internally identifying
and developing high-potential talents positioned to take up the mantle of the next
generation of the Bank’s leaders. Leadership Acceleration Programme (LAP) and
FirstBank Management Associate Programme (FMAP) are the others.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial services provider, has
announced the graduation of 20 successful participants in the fourth edition of its Senior
Management Development Programme (SMDP) at an event held recently at Oriental Hotel,
Lagos.
Before the 2023 graduation, the SMDP had produced 52 graduates. The Bank successfully
graduated 23 participants in its inaugural edition, held in 2018; 17 in 2019 and 12 in 2020.
The Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP) is FirstBank’s intensive modular
programme for a select group of senior managers to principal managers who are proven leaders
in their respective functions and identified as central to the Bank’s succession plan.
The SMDP is an intensive skill development programme structured to enhance core leadership
and business competencies of elite senior management staff within the Bank. It consists of
three instructor-led modular periods adopting a blend of classroom lectures, experiential
activities, flipped learning strategies and peer-to-peer discussions to develop the desired talent
pool.
“This programme is one of FirstBank’s key initiatives designed to create a dependable pool of
highly skilled, favourably competitive, and globally minded Senior Managers. It is also aimed at
accelerating their journey through the very demanding process of becoming outstanding leaders
and management executives,” said Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO of FirstBank Group.
“FirstBank is widely acclaimed for sound corporate governance and this programme is further
proof of our commitment to grooming and development. Through the Senior Management
Development Programme, we emphasise sound leadership as the ethos and language of
Bankwide conversations; this provides an empirical means of guaranteeing the Bank’s
leadership bench strength both for now and the future,” he concluded.
The Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP) is among the three core leadership
programmes and strategic approaches designed to sustain performance, build capacity and
promote the empowerment of employees from the lower cadres to the upper levels. The other
programmes are Leadership Acceleration Programme and FirstBank Management Associate
Programme (FMAP).
These programmes aim at internally identifying and developing high-potential talents who could
take up the mantle of being the next generation of the Bank’s leaders, thereby building on its
over 129 years of heritage since its founding.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading
financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for 129 years.
With over 750 business locations and over 215538 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the
774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail
and corporate financial services to serve its over 41 million customers. The Bank has an
international presence with subsidiaries operating in 9 other countries. These subsidiaries are
FirstBank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FirstBank in The Gambia, FirstBank in Sierra-
Leone, FirstBank in the Republic of Congo, FirstBank in Guinea, FBNBank in Ghana, FBNBank
in Senegal as well as a Representative Office in Beijing, China. The Bank is at the forefront of
promoting digital banking in the country and has issued over 12 million cards, the first bank to
achieve such a milestone.
FirstBank has continued to make significant investments in technology, innovation and
transformation, and its cashless transaction drive has been steadily accentuated with almost 22
million active FirstBank customers signed up on digital channels including the USSD Quick
Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code.
FirstBank’s commitment to Diversity is shown in its policies, partnerships and initiatives, such as
its employees’ ratio of female to male (about 39%:61%; and 32% women in management) as
well as the FirstBank Women Network, an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and
increase the participation of women at all levels within the organization. In addition, the Bank’s
membership of the UN Women is an affirmation of a deliberate policy that is consistent with UN
Women’s Women Empowerment’s Principles – Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and
Nondiscrimination.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers
focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk
management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private
investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the
Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach,
FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities
available in Nigeria an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial
partner.
For six consecutive years (2011 – 2016), FirstBank was named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in
Nigeria” by the globally renowned The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group and
“Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” eight times in a row, 2011 – 2018, by the Asian Banker
International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards.
Notably, in 2022, the Bank took a long stride on its growth trajectory with the Bank’s Viability
and Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings upgraded to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘ (with Outlooks Stable) by Fitch,
a leading global rating agency. This is an indication of the Bank’s strong internal capital
generation and the corresponding recession of its risks to capitalisation. Fitch also upgraded
the Bank’s National Long-Term Ratings to ‘A (nga)’ from ‘BBB (nga)’, to reflect its improved
creditworthiness relative to that of other issuers in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Top 100 African
Bank rankings 2022 released by The Banker Magazine revealed FirstBank’s ranking as
number one in Nigeria in terms of Overall Performance, Profitability, Efficiency and Return on
Risk.
Other laudable feats in 2022 include FirstBank’s international recognitions on major indices by
Euromoney Market Leaders, an independent global assessment of the leading financial service
providers where FirstBank was crowned:
Market Leader: (tier-1 recognition) in Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR),
Market Leader: (tier -1 recognition) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG),
Highly Regarded: in Corporate Banking and Digital Solutions,
Notable: in SME Banking.
Also, in 2022 International Finance Magazine named the Bank “Most Innovative Banking
Product in Nigeria” and “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria”. FirstBank was also awarded “Best
Corporate Banking Western Africa, 2022” and “Best CSR Bank Western Africa, 2022’’ by
Global Banking and Finance Magazine. Other notable awards in FirstBank coffers include:
“Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance magazine – fifteen times in a row; “Best Private Bank
in Nigeria-2021” awarded by Global Finance magazine; “Best Internet Banking Nigeria” and
‘’Best CSR Bank Africa’’ by International Business Magazine.
In 2023, FirstBank has received notable awards including “Best Private Bank for Sustainable
Investing in Africa 2023” by Global Finance Awards; “Best Sustainable Bank in Nigeria 2023” by
International Investors Awards; “Best Bespoke Banking Services in Nigeria 2023” by
International Investors Awards; “Best Financial Inclusion Service Provider in Nigeria 2023” by
Digital Banker Africa; and “African Bank of the Year” by African Leadership Magazine.
Our vision is ‘To be Africa’s Bank of first choice’ and our mission is ‘To remain true to our name
by providing the best financial services possible. This commitment is anchored on our core
values of EPIC – Entrepreneurship, Professionalism, Innovation and Customer-Centricity. Our
strategic ambition is ‘To deliver accelerated growth in profitability through customer-led
innovation and disciplined execution and our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate
“gold standard” of value and excellence to position You First in every respect.
A.
– Aug. 08, 2023 @ 18:22 GMT |
Tags: FIRSTBANK
