FBNBank Ghana has launched the 125th anniversary of its parent company, FirstBank Bank of Nigeria.

The occasion, which is being observed in all countries where the bank has operations, was launched in Accra.

“FBNBank Ghana joins the 125 years celebration of FirstBank on 31 March, certainly a big deal for us and our very supportive stakeholders.

Today is a special day as we witness the hoisting of our parent bank’s 125th anniversary flag in Ghana. Indeed, this is commemorativeiy being done by all subsidiaries of FirstBank of Nigeria Limited,” FBN Ghana’s Managing Director, Gbenga Odeyemi said at the launch.

He said the flag hosting symbolizes the identity, impact, permanence and reverence of an institution, adding: “We are here to reinforce these and much more about FBNBank.”

Focus on agric

The MD said the bank is leveraging its experience of supporting agribusiness and SMEs in Nigeria to promote Ghana’s agriculture sector.

“We are supporting the SMEs, that is small and medium enterprises and we will continue to do that, we are one of the banks that has kept our licenses in the sense that our license is still in existence and we will continue to support the economy of Ghana by granting facilities to customers”.

Mr. Odeyemi assured that the bank is identifying players in the agriculture sector to provide funds for them.

He stated that to effectively identify people in the agriculture sector, the bank is working with the EXIM Bank to make sure the industry gets the support it needs.

He said, “The advantage we have over other banks in Ghana is that we have gathered experience of supporting the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

“As a subsidiary of this long-standing institution, FBNBank Ghana Limited has come to stay and contribute to the nation’s development; woven into the fabric of society.”

Commenting on what the bank will do to maintain operations even after meeting the minimum capital requirement of 400 million cedis, Mr, Odeyemi said the bank will be heavy on digitization.

“As a bank that wants to give customers the best experience and make sure they always come back to us we will employ more digitization in our operations. We believe that by doing so we will continue to be relevant,” he added.

FBN Bank operates 17 branches and two agencies across the country.