FBNBank Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has announced the appointment of Mr. Kofo Majekodunmi to its Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman following Bank of Ghana’s approval.

Mr. Kofo Majekodunmi, currently the Managing Director of MBC Capital Limited, an issuing House and Investment Advisory Company in Nigeria, has over 30 years of experience in the Banking and Financial Services industry with vast knowledge in Issuing House functions and Corporate Financial Advisory. At one time, he was the Deputy Managing Director of MBC International Bank Plc. Thereafter, he was pioneer Executive Director of Asset Management at FBN Capital Limited. He was on the Board of Leadway Pensure PFA, a leading Pension Fund Administrator in Nigeria, a position he has held for 15 years, and from which he retired in August 2021.

Prior to his current role, he was Executive Director at MBC Securities Limited, from 2007 to 2011. At MBC, he oversaw the firm’s diversification into a suite of Non-Bank Financial Services (Advisory/Issuing House Services, Bureau De Change, Insurance Brokerage) which complements the Broker/Dealer business of MBC Securities Limited.

Mr. Majekodunmi was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988 upon his graduation from The London School of Economics & Political Science where he obtained a degree in Law. He is a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit, the Institute of Directors and holds an MBA from the Lagos Business School (in association with the University of Navarra IESE, Spain).

Commenting on Kofo’s appointment, Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Subsidiaries, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said, “Kofo’s appointment to the FBNBank Ghana Board is an indication of the First Bank Group’s commitment to support the Subsidiary in Ghana. With a strong team, we can look forward with assurance as we chart a new course in our determination to be a significant player in Ghana’s banking sector as we continue to offer them the gold standard of value and excellence. His extensive experience makes him a great addition and we are happy to have him on the FBNBank Ghana Board.”

Kofo joins FBNBank Ghana Board after 25 years of the Bank’s operations in the country which has seen it increasingly deepen its engagement with customers and other key stakeholder-groups.

Commenting on his appointment to the FBNBank Ghana Board, Kofo said, “I am looking forward to working with the other members of the FBNBank Ghana Board to guide the process of moving the Bank into a new age of leadership in the industry in Ghana. We are well primed for success and our people have passionately embraced the challenge, having just celebrated the Bank’s 25 anniversary in Ghana last year and utilising the opportunity to deepen engagement with multiple stakeholder-groups. I consider this to be an opportune time to be part of the FBNBank Ghana story which is unfolding with a strong indication of growth across all the relevant metrics. This great story is developing on the back of FBNBank offering to its stakeholders improved value by putting them at the heart of what the Bank does. This is certainly an exciting time to be associated with FBNBank Ghana.”

About FBNBank Ghana

FBNBank Ghana Limited is a member of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited Group. The Bank has 22 branches and 2 agencies in Ghana with almost 500 staff and offers universal banking services to individuals and businesses. FBNBank Ghana Limited has been in the business of banking for 26 years in Ghana and is part of the trade hub that has grown economies for over 127 years across Africa, Europe and China.

FBNBank has reaffirmed its commitment to support the economic aspirations of Ghana, promising to leverage the Bank’s parent company’s regional expertise and experience garnered over 127 years to deliver solutions to the country’s economic hot spots.

This was communicated by a delegation of the Bank led by the Managing Director/CEO of its parent Bank, FirstBank and Subsidiaries, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan in separate meetings with President Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta. In the meeting at the Jubilee House on Monday, Dr. Adeduntan, who was accompanied by Mr. Kofo Majekodunmi, Board Chairman, FBNBank Ghana, Mr. Ini Ebong, Executive Director, Treasury & International Banking, FirstBank, Oluwatosin Adewuyi, Executive Director, Corporate Banking, FirstBank, Mr. Victor Yaw Asante, MD/CEO, FBNBank Ghana and Ms. Rosie Ebe-Arthur, Non-Executive Director, FBNBank Ghana indicated that FBNBank Ghana is part of an African Bank that has roots in Nigeria is committed to playing its part as a good corporate citizen to support the development of the country’s economy.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo, welcomed the FBNBank delegation and charged them to work together with the government and people of Ghana to address some of the challenges the country is facing currently. According to the President, “the difficulties that all of us are going through now are nothing that we have to re-emphasize and reiterate. It is obvious, and the source of it is also something that all of us know. It has been different impacts on different economies and countries but the root causes of it are well known. They are matters that we have to also resolve together. I believe that at the end of the day, it is this cooperation across borders in our regions that will give us the strongest base in which to deal with the problems that have emerged in these last two years.”

In the meeting with the President was Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, the Chief of Staff, Minister of State in Charge of Finance, Hon. Charles Adu Boahen and the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, Executive Secretary to the President.

In the meeting at the Ministry of Finance, the Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta touched on the current economic challenges facing the entire African continent in addition to issues like the banking sector clean up and the new resilience exhibited by Banks based on their performance as per their published 2021 results. He called on banks to take actions that would ultimately fuel the growth of the economy. He mentioned in particular the reduction of the interest rate and increased lending to SMEs.

The FBNBank delegation shared the Bank’s efforts and commitments with the Ministry of Finance team highlighting recent undertakings like the partnership with the Government for the YouStart Initiative to grow the country’s new crop of young entrepreneurs and also the support so provided for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The Finance Ministry team comprising of the Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta supported by Hon Charles Adu Boahen, Minister of State in charge of Finance, Simon Akligoh, Director of Financial Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Yaw Ansu, Chairman, National Development Bank Board expressed their appreciation for the bank’s support.

The Bank’s delegation to the Ministry of Finance was made up of Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank and Subsidiaries, Mr. Ini Ebong, Executive Director, Treasury & International Banking, FirstBank, Oluwatosin Adewuyi, Executive Director, Corporate Banking, FirstBank Mr. Kofo Majekodunmi, Board Chairman, FBNBank Ghana, Mr. Victor Yaw Asante, MD/CEO, FBNBank Ghana and Mr. Semiu Lamidi, ED/CFO, FBNBank Ghana.

FBNBank has reaffirmed its commitment to support gender parity both at the workplace and outside it by ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion receiving focus with the objective of eliminating the biases which undermine the progress of women.

This was communicated by the Bank as part of its celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD 2022) under the theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” and call-to-action, “#BreakTheBais”, at a forum organised by the FBNBank Women Network (FWN).

Delivering the welcome address, Grace Isaac-Aryee, the Chairperson of the FWN said, “for us at FBNBank, the celebration of International Women’s Day is the acknowledgement of the challenges that women face at the workplace and the society in general and our commitment to contribute in a very significant way to break down the barriers that so undermine us. Today’s event is key for our agenda and is a core part of our objectives and we are taking this opportunity to reflect, pause and renew our efforts in driving the agenda.”

Over the years, FBNBank has through its FWN, a platform driven an agenda of promoting access to equal opportunities for women at the workplace. The FWN offers female employees capacity building and personal development through its six pillars; Career Management, Network Programmes/Projects & Events, Counselling-Support-Welfare, Financial Planning & Empowerment, Mentoring-Coaching-Sponsoring and Personal Branding. In line with these, the FWN invited two guest speakers to share their experiences with the employees in order to help them build their capabilities.

Speaking on the topic, “How women can leverage the changing organisational culture and overcome what holds us back,” Isabel Boaten, Managing Partner at AB & David, advised the female employees of the Bank to take advantage of the growing empowerment culture for women in corporate organisations by responding positively to opportunities that come their way. She mentioned the need for competence, good knowledge of their industry and general professional environment in addition to being commercially aware and to have an entrepreneurial mindset as very important. She also advised the ladies to be “trustworthy, credible and visible.”

The second speaker, Akua Owusu-Nartey, Managing Director of Ogilvy Africa spoke on the topic, “Breaking the bias, changing the narrative.” Akua shared her experiences with the audience and stressed the need for the ladies to do away with biases which she explained were mostly founded on the personal experiences of other people. She explained that cultural and media stereotypes have played a key role in mounting barriers to the advancement of women and urged the ladies to focus on developing themselves in order to take advantage of opportunities available.

The Bank’s Managing Director, Victor Yaw Asante stated in the keynote address that, “What we need to focus on is doing away with discrimination against women anywhere it exists and embracing diversity, equity and inclusion. We want to work together with our women to forge a clear path to break the bias against them. We would create more opportunities in leadership roles. The truth of the matter is that this would not be handed on a silver platter but would be response to effort made in the right direction. Support and mentorship are key here. We can only try as much, so our ladies must also want it. You must do your part of the bargain and we would give you the necessary support. That is the commitment I make together with the whole executive management team.”

The activities under the event’s programme were rounded up with remarks from two female Non-Executive Directors of FBNBank, Ms. Rosie Ebe-Arthur and Mrs. Hannah Brenda Amoateng who both urged the ladies to position themselves favourably to be able to move on up in their careers. They advised those up the corporate ladder to be willing to help the other ladies in the lower rungs to climb up.  The attendees at the event were mostly the Bank’s female employees supported by executive and management staff.

FBNBank Ghana Limited is a member of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited Group. The Bank has 21 branches and 2 agencies in Ghana with almost 500 staff and offers universal banking services to individuals and businesses. FBNBank Ghana Limited has been in the business of banking for over 25 years in Ghana and is part of the trade hub that has grown economies for over 127 years across Africa, Europe and China.

Accra, 26 January 2022 – FBNBank has officially commissioned its new Atomic Junction Branch at a short but colourful ceremony which brought to the fore, the Bank’s commitment to continuously contribute to Ghana’s economy, highlighting its agenda and focus, particularly in 2022.

The FBNBank Atomic Junction Branch, sited on the main Haatso – Atomic Road, is located opposite the Palace Shopping Centre and is a specially designed touchpoint which will offer retail, commercial and premium banking services to its customers and clients in the near-by suburbs of University of Ghana, Madina, North Legon, Atomic, Haatso and Agbogba. The new branch, which is the 21st in FBNBank’s branch network, is expected to attend to the needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), retail customers and also the growing youth population within the catchment area.

The ceremony attracted clients, customers, staff and several key personalities. It included a tour of the branch which offered the invitees a firsthand opportunity to appreciate the ergonomic design of the interior and the enhanced customer interaction and experience features. The branch has a Premium Lounge available for customers who have signed up for the service. SME clients will also receive special attention owing to the presence of a team on stand-by to attend to their needs.

Delivering the keynote address, Rosie Ebe-Arthur, Non-Executive Director of FBNBank Ghana, said “FBNBank, being conscious of the role of banks in the economic development of this country has chosen to make a difference through its offerings and propositions on the platform of keeping its customers and all stakeholders at the heart of what it does. The Bank has subsequently positioned itself strategically as the go-to partner for SMEs and also for trade generally. This year, FBNBank has added the Youth to its agenda. All these are possible because the Bank leverages the support of its parent, First Bank of Nigeria which has garnered over 127 years of extensive and successful engagement over several generations with the people of Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.”

Rosie Ebe-Arthur added that, “to deliver on its agenda and also remain relevant in the realisation of the economic agenda of Ghana, FBNBank has over the past years grown its network, which currently features an exciting variety of customer touchpoints. These include the usual brick and mortar branches, ATMs, digital channels and third-party options like agent banking.”

Also present at the FBNBank Atomic Junction branch commissioning were Municipal Chief Executive of Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly, Hon. Sandra Owusu-Ahenkorah, Non-Executive Directors of FBNBank Ghana, Ms. Rosie Ebe-Arthur and Mrs. Hannah Brenda Amoateng, Lead Pastor, Cedar Mountain Chapel, Assemblies of God International, Reverend Dr. Stephen Wengam, Imam, Madina Central Mosque, Sheikh Salman Mohamed Alhassan and the host, Mr. Victor Yaw Asante, Managing Director and Chief Executive of FBNBank Ghana.

Earlier, Mr. Asante, in delivering the Welcome Address said, “the presence of this branch here therefore strategically places FBNBank in one of the most ideal locations to be able to attend to the banking needs of two of our key customer segments: SMEs and retail. Over the last few years, we have seen a number of businesses established here to meet the growing needs of the fast-growing population. Quite a number of these businesses happen to be SMEs. In addition to this, this enclave accommodates several tertiary institutions with their huge young population not to mention the numerous residents in the suburbs around here. This creates a hotspot for the offering of our gold standard of excellence and value. This is an exciting mix for us as a Bank for which reason we have set up here to be able to attend to their needs.”

In the past five years, FBNBank has improved on its offering by introducing several unique products aimed at SMEs and retail customers in particular. These include the FBN First Trader Solution, the FBNBank Temporary Overdraft, FBNBank Auto Loan and the FBNBank Personal Loan. The Bank has within the same period opened new branches at Osu, Tip Toe Lane, a second branch on the Spintex Road and Ring Road Central. Branches like Tema and Kaneshie have be refurbished and recommissioned, offering an improved interaction and experience for customers and clients. All these have been augmented with a variety of digital channels which together deliver more convenience to customers and clients.

FBNBank Ghana is a member of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited Group which is renowned for its great customer service and general stakeholder engagement garnered over its 127 years of operation. FBNBank Ghana has 21 branches and two agencies across the country with almost 500 staff. FBNBank offers universal banking services to individuals and businesses in Ghana.

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Accra, 15 January 2022 – FBNBank has reaffirmed its approach to service with a promise to offer the best service yet to its customers this year. The Bank got its staff to undertake two Health Walk events in Accra and Kumasi, and used the occasion to set the tone for what is expected to be a great year of service and partnership to the Bank’s stakeholder-groups especially customers and clients.

The Health Walk which was held simultaneously in Accra and Kumasi over a distance of 14 kilometres had staff, customers and clients participating. In Accra the walk started from the Bank’s yet-to-be commissioned Madina-Atomic branch near the Atomic Junction and ended at the FBNBank head office on the Liberation Road. In Kumasi the walk began from the Bank’s Adum Branch and terminated at the Suame Branch.

Speaking to participants at the end of the Health Walk in Accra, FBNBank’s Managing Director, Victor Yaw Asante said, “Last year, 2021, was our 25th anniversary year and we celebrated it with a renewed sense of service to our stakeholders via several touchpoints and ensuring that we continue to put them at the heart of what we do. 2022 holds a lot of promise for us as a Bank and also as individuals. Being the year that comes after our 25th anniversary celebration, we have a lot to do to keep the momentum up. We have made gains which we must build upon. It was good to see how everyone made the effort to join and complete the walk today. It shows strongly that we are ready and willing to set in motion our agenda for 2022. This year must be the year where we deliver the most value to our stakeholders; our clients and customers especially. We remain committed to putting them at the heart of what we do, delivering the gold standard of value and excellence to them at all our touchpoints.” He added that “we cannot do what we set out to achieve without acknowledging the challenges we would face. Aside of being an activity for us to bond, this walk is also a symbolic event that says we are ready to do even better in 2022.

Mr. Asante touched on the need for staff to stay healthy and be competition-ready, the need to be resilient and also the need to work together always as the three lessons staff should pick from the walk activity. He used these three points to convey his expectations of the staff with respect to the Bank’s 2022 agenda. “All these are required ingredients for the expected performance in 2022. We need to stay healthy, strong, resilient and be able to work as a team to achieve our 2022 objectives. There shall certainly be challenges. However, our resilience and focus should see us through,” he added.

The participants were treated to refreshments and good music from Samini who is also the Bank’s Digital Products Ambassador. The Kumasi event was led by the Area Manager for Northern Ghana, Mr. Philip Afari who addressed the participants after the walk.

FBNBank Ghana has in its over 25 years of operating in Ghana remained focused on putting its customers, staff and other stakeholders first. This, it has sought to do through the value and excellence of what the Bank contributes to the relationship with its stakeholders, particularly the customers. The Bank is a member of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited Group which is renowned for its great customer service and general stakeholder engagement garnered over its 127 years of operation. FBNBank Ghana has 21 branches and two agencies across the country with close to 500 staff. FBNBank offers universal banking services to individuals and businesses in Ghana.

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