TheNewsGuru

Tag: first bank

  • Lagos 2019: Agbaje picks First Bank director as running mate

    Lagos 2019: Agbaje picks First Bank director as running mate

    The Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has announced a lawyer, Mrs. Haleemat Busari, as his running mate.

    The law graduate from the University of Lagos is a Director on the board of several blue-chip companies.

    She was a director in Zain Nigeria Ltd (now Airtel Nigeria, a leading telecommunications company) and a serving director in First Bank, Sierra Leone.

    A statement on Thursday by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Jimi Agbaje Campaign Organisation, Felix Oboagwina, said the PDP candidate picked Mrs. Busari following comprehensive consultations with leaders and stakeholders within and outside the party.

    “Mrs. Oluwayemisi Haleemat Busari came highly recommended and widely endorsed.

    “Stakeholders all agree that without any iota of a doubt, the Jimi-Haleemat combination is a winning ticket on every count,” the statement said.

    Married to Teslim Busari (SAN), Haleemat was born in 1964, to the family of the late Ahmed Giwa, a businessman and Vice President of Jamatul Islamiyya of Nigeria from Epe, and the Late Mrs. Mujibat Giwa (nee Shonibare), a princess of the Kosoko royal family from Isale Eko.

    According to Oboagwina, Mrs. Busari will be bringing to the joint ticket her versatility and connections as a professional in corporate governance, as a Muslim activist and as a bonafide daughter of native Lagos.

     

  • Breach of contract: Agbakoba wins case against First Bank, to get N266m damages

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has been ordered by a federal high court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, to pay one of its customers, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), the sum of N266.4 million as general damages against the bank for mismanaging his share portfolio investment account.

    The verdict of the court was as a result of a suit filed Mr Agbakoba against First Bank claiming sundry reliefs.

    In his statement of claim filed before the court by a partner in the law firm of Agbakoba and Associates, Babatunde Ogungbamila on behalf of the human rights lawyer, he alleged that as a result of bankers/customer relationship between him and the bank; sometime in 2008, the bank introduced its margin trading facility to him, which he accepted.

    He said First Bank explained to him that the bank’s customers were to purchase shares with the advanced margin trading facility and pledge the shares to the bank.

    The bank, for a management fee, was to professionally manage the advanced facility by selecting the broker and securities the facility would be invested into.

    He said the bank would also prepare all the paper work needed, provide information about the funds’ holdings and performances and reserved the power to exit should the fund diminish to a threshold that could impair the economic underpinnings of the investment and left the bank’s exposure uncovered.

    According to the customer, the bank claimed to possess the requisite knowledge, skills and expertise to seamlessly manage the investment in a win-win situation under terms and conditions that limited the exposure of the customers who were to rely on the expertise of the bank to manage the investment.

    Consequently, the bank requested and encouraged him as a customer to take the margin loan contract.

    On the strength assurance, the plaintiffs applied for a margin trading facility of N200 million with the plaintiff and the bank opening a joint special reserve lien account with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), whereby First Bank Limited was the sole signatory to the lien account.

    The plaintiff said he also provided shares worth N60 million as his own contribution in line with the margin trading facility agreement.

    It was fundamental to the margin loan agreement that if the plaintiff was unable to regularize the account within 5 days following the margin call, the bank has the duty to sell the shares and apply the value of the shares appreciate to cover the required margin.

    However, the plaintiff averred that the bank did not take reasonable care to ensure the performance of the contract and observe compliance with all terms and conditions of their agreement in relation to the transaction as the bank failed to monitor the stock market and advise the plaintiff accordingly as it was obliged by the margin loan agreement, while the value of the shares continued a steady decline the plaintiff was utterly left in the dark regarding the value of the share portfolio in spite of repeated demands by the plaintiff for information from the bank.

    In a particular of the fraudulent inducement, First Bank held itself out as possessing the requisite knowledge, skills and expertise to seamlessly manage the investment in a win-win situation while offering the plaintiff the product, consequently the breach of the margin trading facility agreement, fraudulent misrepresentations and mismanagement of the plaintiff’s account by the bank occasioned huge loses to the plaintiff.

    The principal sum of N200 million was completely lost, the plaintiff paid a total sum of N250,434,639.13 in liquidation of the margin loan account excluding interest and other charges.

    It was disclosed that the plaintiff’s 30 percent equity contribution valued at N60 million was completely lost and N40 million out of this would have been saved if the shares were sold at the second trigger point, N768,454,85 cost of cancellation of transfer of the debt to AMCON.

    During hearing of the case, Mr Agbakoba testified for himself and tendered 22 exhibits.

    However, in amended statement of defence filed before the court by Professor G. Elias (SAN), First Bank, while denying almost the claims of Mr Agbakoba, contended that it is not in any way liable to the plaintiff either in contract or tort as the plaintiff was aware of the volatility of the operations of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the speculative nature of the price of the stocks traded thereon and voluntarily assumed the business risks involved therein by applying for the loan from the bank and applying for the loan proceeds to buy shares, thereon the bank has never been the plaintiff’s investment manager.

    He said the bank’s obligations were limited to the administrative of the facility itself, not the shares. The said administration involved the bank taking steps to ensure payments of the principal sum and the interest and monitoring movements on the bank’s lien account not share account by debiting and crediting relevant accounts towards repayment of the facility.

    He said the bank was never a “joint venture” participant in the shares investment business undertaken by the plaintiff with the facility proceeds.

    According to him, the bank’s role in the facility transaction was that of a lender and not that of a co-investor or asset manager.

    Consequently, the bank denied that it acted in breach of contract or breach of any legal duty, therefore the plaintiff is not entitled to any sum as the plaintiff’s claims against the bank are vexations and without merit and should be dismissed with substantial costs.

    In his judgment, Justice Muslim Hassan held that, “I am in agreement with the submission of learned counsel for the plaintiff that the bank failed to honour its contractual obligation as contained in the margin loan agreement and as a result the plaintiff suffered damages.

    “The position of the defendant is akin to a situation where a party to a contract in the absence of any agreement to the contrary takes a benefit of a contract and refuses to accept liability as a result of his inaction or negligence, no court in Nigeria would allow that.

    “From the foregoing, I hold that the plaintiff has proved his case against the defendant. I hereby make the following orders.

    “An order is made against the bank for the payment of N20 million as general damages against the bank for mismanagement of the plaintiffs share portfolio investment.

    “An order is made against First Bank for the payment of the sum of N200 million principal sum lost by the plaintiff as a result of the bank’s breach.

    “An order is made against the bank for the payment of the sum of N40 million to the plaintiff which would have been saved out of the plaintiff equity contributions were the shares sold at the second trigger point.

    “An order is made against the bank for the payment of the sum N768,454,85 to the plaintiff being the cost of cancellation of transfer of the debt to AMCON.

    “An order is made against the defendant for the payment of the sum of N5.6 million for loss of dividend that accrued from plaintiffs Diamond Bank shares in April 2008.

    “Payment of the sum of N5 million as a cost of this action is refused as the plaintiff failed to prove how he arrived at that figure, more so the plaintiff cannot transfer his legal fees to the bank.

    “An order for the payment of interest on the judgment sums awarded against the bank in favour of the plaintiffs from the date of judgement at the rate of 17 percent per annum until judgment sums are paid.”

  • First Bank excites social media users, launches chat banking on WhatsApp

    Determined to ensure effective service to its customers, First Bank of Nigeria on Thursday unveiled its chat banking on WhatsApp.

    Mr Chuma Ezirim, the bank’s Group Head, E-Business, said the application would enable customers leverage the real-time messaging capabilities of the WhatsApp Business Solution to check their account balance.

    Ezirim said that customers would also leverage on the solution to perform simple banking queries.

    He said in a statement in Lagos that the launch which took place on Aug. 1 was at its pilot phase and would be available to a select group of customers after which it would be made available to all customers.

    Ezirim said additional details on the solution would be provided in the coming weeks as customers are encouraged to keep interacting with the bank on its various social media channels for updates.

    “Customers expectations are constantly changing and it is our duty as a customer-focused bank to ensure that our customers are provided with the means to carry out banking services through any channel they desire.

    “We are constantly seeking new ways and opportunities to meet customers at their preferred touch points and we understand our customers are actively engaged on WhatsApp.

    “With First Bank chat banking on WhatsApp, it is not just about staying connected with friends and loved ones, but also keeping in touch with your bank anytime and anywhere you are,” Ezirim said.

     

     

  • Forex: Emefiele pays unscheduled visits to First Bank, UBA, Zenith, insists on $1/N360 benchmark

    Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday paid an unannounced visit to First Bank, UBA and Zenith banks offices in Abuja to inspect sales of foreign currencies to customers.

    He said that the visit was to ascertain banks compliance with the new directive by the CBN to sell foreign currencies to all customers over-the-counter whether the customer had an account or not.

    “The essence of us being here is to make sure that the banks are able to service not just their customers, but also those who are not their customers, particularly those who want to travel outside the country.

    “I want to seize this opportunity to let everybody know that there is dollar availability. If you want to travel, go to a bank. It doesn’t have to be your bank.

    “Whether you have an account or not, you should be attended to.

    “Just work into any bank with your travel document, show your Visa and air ticket. They will ask for your BVN and once they verify it, they should attend to you on the spot.

    “Nobody should go home and come back because he or she wants to buy foreign exchange. You should be attended to immediately and that’s what over-the-counter means,’’ he said.

    Emefiele said that all the banks were well stocked and whoever want to make foreign exchange transaction should look for the “BTA/PTA counter’’ or “Bureau de Change counter’’ located in all banks’ branches.

    He also said that all banks were expected to display daily foreign exchange rates for major currencies, so that the customer would be aware of how much he or she is paying.

    “The essence of this inspection is to say that there is ample liquidity for any eligible traveler and nobody should fall into the temptation of buying BTA or PTA from a bank at more than N360 to a dollar.

    “The banks are entitled to their margin, and their margin has already been built into the price so you don’t have to pay any additional charge,’’ he said.

    According to Emefiele, the CBN Examiners will continue to do on-the-spot assessments at banks to find out and be sure that people who are traveling get attended to Over-the-Counter.

    Emefiele visited the First Bank branch in Central Area, UBA branch in Area 3 and Zenith Bank in Maitama, Abuja.

    He asked customers of the three banks their experiences in accessing foreign exchange, if they were being attended to promptly or not.

    He also spoke with the Head Branch Service, First Bank, Abuja, Ms Zainab Darlington, Zenith Bank’s Executive Director, North, Mr Umar Ahmed and the Assistant General Manager, UBA, Mrs Jennifer Illoabache.

    They all confirmed ample supply of foreign exchange from the CBN to meet all eligible demand for foreign exchange.

    According to the Apex bank, Nigerians traveling out of the country for personal reasons, are entitled to access a maximum of 4,000 dollars every quarter, while those going for business, 5,000 dollars.

    Meanwhile, the Naira on Monday exchanged for N366 to a dollar at the Bureau de Change segment, showing slight improvement from the N367 it closed on Friday.

  • Offa robbery: First Bank MD visits Olofa, Kwara Gov [Photos]

    …promises to cooperate to improve security

    The MD/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan on Friday in company of other senior executives of the bank visited the Olofa of Offa, HRH Oba Mufutau Muhammed Oloyede Gbadamosi, Okikiola Esuwoye II to commiserate with him and the entire Offa community on the recent robbery incident which claimed over 50 innocent lives.

    The MD, however, pledged the bank’s continuous support towards improving security in the town.

    Other members of the Bank’s Management team on the visit were Dr. Remi Oni, Executive Director, Corporate Banking; Mallam Abdullahi Ibrahim, Executive Director, Public Sector Group, Shehu Aliyu, Regional Head Retail Banking North and Muazu Barau, Group Head Public Sector North 1.

  • First Bank gears up to achieve customer growth target

    First Bank Nigeria Limited is stepping up efforts to ensure that it meets its growth target of 30million customers over the next three years, the lender has said.

    Managing Director/Chief Executive, FirstBank Limited, Dr. Adesola Adedutan, had announced last May that the Tier 1 lender had begun implementing a three-year strategy that would result in its increasing its customer base to 30million.

    He said: “The strategy is focused on significantly growing our customer base. We plan on having minimum of 30 million customer account over the three years. We are currently at about 14 million customer accounts. Our commitment is that, given the number of branches that we already have, which is slightly below 750, we don’t intend to make additional significant investments in building new branches.

    “We are left with aggressive digital marketing initiatives, which means, migrating our existing and new customers to alternative channels, namely First Online, Firstmobile, USSD and ATM cards. That is the way forward for us and we are making significant progress already.”

    In a statement made available, the bank disclosed that in line with its strategy to grow its customer base to 30million over the next three years, it launched a “Project Orion”- a, “technology-led transformation programme aimed at fully automating the Finance, Risk Management, Compliance and Human Capital functions, using a proven Enterprise Resource Planning and Enterprise Risk Management (ERP/ERM) system.”

    The ERP/ERM solutions, the lender said, would eliminate process redundancies as well as strengthen risk management and controls, support cost optimization, reduce opex and improve efficiencies and profitability.

    It also stated that last June, it announced the launch of its refreshed and user-friendly website, adding that besides being built for the digital age, the new website is easy to access and navigate for the average multi-screen user.

    According to the statement, the new website is considered a unique evolution for the lender in terms of information and interactive services available for customers, investors, shareholders and the global community.

    Commenting on the new website, Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, said: “The launch of refreshed website comes in line with measures that the Bank has taken to execute its digital banking strategy that aims to progress all facets of its activities in line with global best practices.”

    She explained that FirstBank has benefited from modern technology tools to ensure a solid technical foundation for the new site, which would see continuous enhancements in the coming months to enhance the effectiveness of its operations and provide all key information needed by customers, investors and other visitors of the website to make investment decisions and have a better customer experience.

    Similarly, the lender disclosed that as part of the strategy, it recently implemented new features on its mobile banking application – FirstMobile- to enhance security and customers’ digital banking experience. The new features, it stated, include, The Card-in-Control functionality, the Quick Response (QR) Code, the Transaction receipt and Save beneficiary functions.

    Furthermore, the bank stated that it recently partnered with Visa to launch the Mobile Payments Solution – mVisa, adding that this mobile solution allows customers pay for goods and services by scanning a QR code using a smartphone via the FirstMobile App.

    “Payment goes straight from the consumer’s FirstBank account into the merchant’s account and provides real-time notification to both parties,” the bank explained.

    Commenting on the innovative platforms that it recently launched, the Group Head, E-Business, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Chuma Ezirim, said the lender would continue to put customers first by leading the industry in the use of technology to provide convenient and fast banking solutions.

    “Partnering with Visa to deliver mVisa is part of the FirstBank’s strategy to deliver reliable, secure and convenient payment options to its esteemed customers.”

    It further promotes our digital approach by delivering omnichannel experience to all our customers, while enhancing our existing offerings”, he reiterated.

    It will be recalled that First Bank’s CEO, Dr Adedutan, had revealed in May: “Based on the figures of the last quarter of 2016, 47 percent of the transaction volumes carried out by our customers was done via alternative channels.

    “We aim at increasing this figure to 70per cent by 31st of December 2019. This will be very significant because that’s when we plan on achieving the 30million customer account minimum.”

  • News Hour: First Bank sacks thousands of employees I TNGtv

  • First Bank Retrenchment: We followed due process, paid entitlements of disengaged staff – Whyte Cleon

    …as affected staff threaten legal action

    Sequel to a report on the sack of over a thousand employees of First Bank Nigeria Limited, the outsourcing company, Whyte Cleon has cleared the air on controversies surrounding the massive sack.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the affected employees range from front desk tellers, account and clearing support staff, customer service officers and marketing associates who had put in between five to 10 years in the service of the bank.

    However, in a swift reaction refuting the alleged unceremonious disengagement of staff, Whyte Cleon, said in a statement over the weekend that the staff were formally disengaged.

    The statement reads in part: “the decision to withdraw the services of our employees was communicated to them both verbally and formally in compliance with the conditions of service of engagements.

    “In global human resource outsourcing practice, employees can be withdrawn from an organization, deployed to other organizations and/or may be replaced with other employees as the case may be.”

    Whyte Cleon said it followed due process in honouring the terms of appointment of outsourced employees and subsequently withdrawing them.

    “Whyte Cleon Limited had exit interviews with all the affected outsourced employees before notification of their recall.

    “It is noteworthy that the affected employees were paid their entitlements and ancillary benefits,” the statement concluded.

    However, TheNewsGuru.com reports that some aggrieved employees who were affected by the sack action have promised to seek redress in court.

    Some of the affected staff who expressed their views on TheNewsGuru.com‘s Facebook page said workers generally deserve better treats from their employers.

    See reactions below:

     

     

  • EXCLUSIVE: First Bank sacks thousands of employees

    Thousands of staff of First Bank of Nigeria, FBN, have been laid-off by the bank, TheNewsGuru.com can authoritatively report.

    Investigations by TheNewsGuru.com reports that the bank, which began the discreet sack action in August, in virtually all the branches nationwide, targets mostly contract staff that had spent nine years with the bank.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that this is due to a labour law which allows for the automatic absorption of contract staff that had spent 10 years with an organisation.

    Further findings by TheNewsGuru.com reveals that the employees initially got their dismissal notification via text messages especially on Fridays, usually after 8pm when the staff had left for home.

    This was even as the bank has clarified that it does not owe contract staff any obligations outside the terms that guide employment of contract staff.

    However, in another twist, an employee with one of the Lagos branches of the bank who identified himself as Shola said he was laid off on Monday (today) morning without any prior notification.

    According to Shola: I got to the office this morning (Monday) and log into my system. I later went downstairs to pick a file. However, on returning to my seat, I tried logging in but the system repeatedly displayed incorrect password. There was nothing to insinuate that I will lose my job this morning. No email, no text, no letter, nothing!,” Shola said shedding a tear despite manly efforts to hold it back.

    Asked how it all began, another source said: “Actually it all started in August. We noticed that after a hard day’s work, some staff received messages asking them not to resume again. This happened from the first Friday in August, (4th) all through to the last and the trend continued till this September. There was no reason given for the sudden termination of appointment. Up till now, no official of the bank spoke to any of us. When mine happened, I went to the Branch Manager and they told me he is not around. I left the bank premises this morning in dejection. I wasn’t even paid for the half month job that I have done.”

    TheNewsGuru.com gathers that majority of the affected staff were recruited through Insourcing Limited, a former subsidiary of the First Bank Group. However, since it folded up, another outsourcing company, took over.

    However, an unconfirmed report, alleges that the wife of a top management staff of First Bank plc is a major shareholder of the new outsourcing company, hence, the decision to wipe out all old contract staff who were employed by Insourcing Limited, to be replaced by new ones under the new outsourcing firm’s direct management.

    Another staff affected by the sack told TheNewsGuru.com that recently the bank asked them (the old contract staff) to train some new employees. He said while they (the old contract staff) took it as just a routine training, the management of the bank did not. He noted that the newly trained employees were now the ones who took over their jobs.

    “Recently, the management approved the training of some new employees by us (the old contract staff). We actually thought the bank was expanding and gladly trained the new employees on the use of some soft wares and gadgets. However, we didn’t see the handwriting on the wall. Now that we have been laid off, the newly trained guys are carrying on with our roles effortlessly,” he said.

    Another disengaged staff of the bank outside Lagos who spoke with TheNewsGuru.com on phone said when she got to the bank last Friday, she was asked to submit her identity card, token and other properties of the bank with her. She said she couldn’t fathom what rule she broke to warrant such unceremonious exit from a job she has spent close to 10 years on.

    “I got to the office this morning and the branch management asked me to drop my identity card and token. I was shocked because I couldn’t recollect what offence I committed to warrant me losing my job in just a twinkle of an eye. Even if the bank wants to disengage me from its service, I think I deserve some compensation because I’ve also added unquantifiable values to the bank since I joined in 2008,” she said.

    Further investigations by TheNewsGuru.com reveals that so far, over a thousand staff (ranging from tellers to customer care officers) have been affected by the recent sack action in the bank.

    TheNewsGuru.com gathers as well that the affected staff were not paid any severance package after their layoff.

    The affected staff have however vowed to seek redress in court. “The bank can’t just lay us off like this after almost 10 years of emotional and physical investments. It is uncalled for. We are consulting widely and the lawyers are giving us legal backing. Soonest the bank will hear from us,” one of the affected staff told TheNewsGuru.com.

    Efforts by TheNewsGuru.com to reach the corporate affairs division of the bank and the new outsourcing firm were not successful as at the time of filing this report.