FBN Bank to focus on agriculture
The Managing Director of FBN Bank Ghana, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr Gbenga Odeyemi, has expressed the resolve of the bank to fast-track the economic development of the country with a special focus on the agricultural sector.
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Towards that he has announced plans of the bank to partner with the Bank of Ghana (BoG), to provide assistance to individual farmers in the country in order to boost the agricultural sector.
“Agriculture is an area that we are equally interested in and we will be partnering with the central bank to provide support to boost the sector,” Mr Odeyemi told the media in Accra.
Inasmuch as the agricultural sector is considered a risky area, it could not be left unattended financially because it would continue to be the source of food production.
By this, the bank will be contributing its quota to ensure food security in Ghana while the country exports the excess to earn some foreign exchange to keep the cedi stable.
He said the bank would continue to maintain a cautious approach to growth with a strategy to capture the unbanked while introducing a new customer-interest product onto the market.
“Our bank has a long-term vision to be a market leader and Ghana’s first choice bank; what this means is that we are here to be the market leader in customer satisfaction, so that if any customer comes into contact with our products, he or she is excited and wants to come back for more,” he stressed.
Mr Odeyemi opined that the bank was committed to offering tailor-made products onto the market to serve both existing and prospective customers of the bank.
He said as part of the bank’s strategy, it would also provide support to small and medium enterprises in the country in order for them to thrive.
He expressed confidence in the ability of the board, management and staff of the bank to deliver the best customer satisfaction to increase customer base.
Background
Mr Odeyemi, whose tenure began on May 16, 2016, succeeded Mr Seyi Oyefeso who is now the Group Executive, Commercial Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
A Finance graduate from the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, Nigeria, Mr Odeyemi, whose banking career spans more than 24 years, has contributed significantly to the growth of the retail and corporate banking segments of First Bank in South Africa and various states in Nigeria.
Mr Odeyemi also believes in entrepreneurship and thus has used his entrepreneurial clout as Chief Representative Officer of First Bank of Nigeria’s Office in South Africa to promote business opportunities between South Africa and Nigeria, earning him the role of a key member of the board of South Africa-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce in 2014.