Age they say is nothing but a number but not when you are 126 and still relevant. FirstBank Ltd, Nigeria’s oldest bank has in so many ways stood the test of time.
Thus, if there is any bank you can reference for experience when it comes to transformation and innovation from the second industrial revolution to what many see now as the fourth, then it is perhaps this bank. Innovate or die as they say.
Last week, new reports suggest the bank was considering an acquisition with Polaris and Heritage Banks respectively. The bank promptly issued a press release neither affirming nor denying that a deal was under consideration.
However, it said enough to warrant a review of the consequences of taking yet another bold step in the bank’s ageless journey in survival.
Heritage Bank which began operations in 2012 after acquiring the license and structure of the old Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria is not new to controversy.
In 2014 Heritage Bank did the unthinkable, it was announced by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) as the winner of the bid for the acquisition of the defunct Enterprise Bank.
Since then, reports about the bank’s ability to remain as a going concern have dominated the news. Polaris Bank, on the other hand, was created by the CBN after it took over the hugely mismanaged Skye Bank Plc.
The bank is yet to publish its financials and the impression out there is that the bank is on life support on the instruction of the CBN.
So, why could FirstBank or indeed any bank interested in these banks? Last January, the CEO of Heritage Bank Mr. Ifie Sekibo revealed that it will soon receive fresh capital injection from yet to be disclosed investors, a development that is expected to push up the bank’s capital base and by so doing, drive growth.
This was the first official indication that the bank needed capital to survive and remain competitive. FirstBank’s position as the largest bank by total assets and deposits was also usurped by Access Bank following its acquisition with Diamond Bank.
