Chiamaka Ajeamo
The Nigerian financial services industry has indeed undergone through numerous transformation in areas of operations, service delivery and other performance indices that would excite keen watchers of trends in the sector.
Increased sophistication in the lifestyle of people, changing tastes, demanding schedules, technological savviness, amongst other modern trends, have seen operators in the sector constantly reinventing the wheel to meet and satisfy the needs of the ever-dynamic environment as well as the populace.
These days, the assessment of financial institutions, particularly banks, is largely measured by their level of connection with their stakeholders and the customer-centric solutions they offer. This fact was succinctly captured by Roy Spence, co-founder of GSD&M, a leading advertising firm in the United States, who declared that, ‘’every business needs to be in the business of improving customers’ lives”.
For FCMB Group Plc, a foremost holding company in Nigeria’s financial services sector, and its nine subsidiaries which are leaders in their respective segments, this declaration underlies the philosophy; serving as a roadmap in the firms’ drive to attain the highest levels of customer advocacy as well as experience. This is while also adding significant value to stakeholders. The operating companies of FCMB Group, which has Mr. Ladi Balogun, as Group Chief Executive, are divided along three business groups – Commercial and Retail Banking (First City Monument Bank Limited, Credit Direct Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited and FCMB Microfinance Bank Limited); Investment Banking (FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited); and Asset & Wealth Management (FCMB Pensions Limited, First City Asset Management Limited and CSL Trustees Limited).
However, after witnessing low and high moments in its many years of operation, the Group has continuously turned challenges to opportunities over the years to emerge as one of the leading institutions in Corporate Nigeria. This underpins the resilience, endurance, robustness and viability of the brand to sustainably deliver exceptional financial services to individuals, groups and organisations across segments.
Indeed, the performance of FCMB has been on the uptick. But there is also no gainsaying the fact FCMB has proved its mettle as an inclusive lender by being a big player in all key sectors of the Nigerian economy. The enduring establishments are transferring prosperity by impacting on businesses and individual aspirations.
It was therefore not surprising that that the Group in 2018,successfully acquired Legacy Pension Managers Limited (now known as FCMB Pensions Limited) by increasing its stake in the company from 28.3 per cent to 91.6 per cent.
The development is engendering sustainable and diversified low-risk growth momentum as the pensions firm is leveraging FCMB’s extensive distribution network, alternate channels, digital innovation and investment research to rapidly expand its customer base.
Speaking on the acquisition, Chairman of the Board of FCMB Pensions Limited and the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun, said, “Having distinguished ourselves in consumer finance over the years and gaining greater market share in retail payments solutions and savings accounts, a comprehensive suite of asset and wealth management propositions, is a natural addition to our growing base of 5 million customers. We have now harmonised the brand. This will enable us create greater marketing synergies alongside other initiatives and accelerate the growth of our pensions business. The change of the company’s name will also entrench a single brand identity across our pensions and retail banking businesses”.
Meanwhile, the financial results of FCMB Group for the nine months ended September 2018 showed a significant increase in profit before tax to N14.77 billion, as against N6.84 billion recorded for the same period in 2017.
Similarly, gross revenue rose by 11per cent to N132.9 billion from N118.8 billion. Net interest income witnessed a 7per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) upsurge from N49.9billion to N53.2 billion, just as non-interest income grew by 77 per cent (YoY) to N33.0 billion from N18.6 billion for the same period in the previous year.
Customer confidence in FCMB Group remained strong, as deposits were up 5 percent Quarter-on Quarter (QoQ) to N756 billion in September 2018, compared to N721.3 billion as the end of June 2018. In addition, the nine months financial results saw a surge in Loans and advances by 3 per cent QoQ to N601.9 billion in September 2018 as against N586.0 billion in June 2018, which is an indication of the Group’s aggressive focus on financial intermediation and support for economic growth of the public and private sectors. The impact of the subsidiaries on the overall performance of FCMB Group has been profound as evidenced by their solid performance.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB), the retail and commercial banking-led subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc, has consolidated its position as a dominant brand by growing in leaps and bounds. The bank has continued to boost its customers acquisition drive in the retail segment of the Banking industry. It has also sustained the tempo of becoming a more convenient and accessible bank in alternate channels, with more than 800 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) spread across Nigeria as at the end of 2018 and over 15,000 Point of Sale (PoS) terminals deployed nationwide, while on-boarding almost 2 million customers on its electronic banking platforms. In addition to these, is the strategic location of the Bank’s business outlets (branches and alternate channels) nationwide; providing prompt and convenient banking solutions as well as promoting financial inclusion in line with its values as a simple, reliable and helpful entity. So far, FCMB has 216 branches and cash centres in Nigeria
The bank has sustained the empowerment of customers through its reward scheme tagged, ‘’FCMB Millionaire Promo’’. Almost 50,000 customers have benefitted from the promo by winning cars, cash rewards of between N1 million and N2 million as well as gifts like television sets, power generating sets and phones, among others.
In business banking, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), FCMB recorded a significant improvement in net revenue as at the end of 2018. FCMB offers several cutting-edge products, services and solutions to meet and satisfy the needs of businesses in this segment. The lender has recently disbursed over N3.17billion to SMEs across the country under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention programme.