ICB Bank gets new board
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, one of West Africa’s largest lenders, says it will transform its Ghanaian subsidiary, the International Commercial Bank (ICB Bank), into the bank of choice for Ghanaians.
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The bank has inaugurated a seven-member Board of Directors chaired by Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, a pharmacist, and a Member of Parliament for Wa West.
The new Board has Mrs. Subu Giwa-Amu, who was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in January and six non-executive directors. The other members are Mr Abdul Suleiman Kofarsauri, Mrs Hannah Brenda Amoateng, Abiodun Tajudeen Odubola, Mr. John Paul Kumi and Mr. Olusanu Abiodun Otudeko.
At the inauguration of the new board, the CEO, Mrs. Subu Giwa-Amu said the acquisition of ICB assets in Ghana, Guinea, Gambia and Sierra Leone fulfils the first stage of First Bank’s ambitions to steadily build a broader and more diverse footprint across Africa.
“We are committed to developing a multi-local business model that broadens our geographic revenue base while providing enhanced service delivery to our new customers and we are very delighted to be here in Ghana, a growing force in Africa and increasingly an emerging hub of African trade and investments,” she said.
The Chairman, Mr Yieleh Chireh, commended FirstBank and said:
“We are very pleased to have FirstBank, one of Africa’s largest banks invest in Ghana and we want to salute the courage and belief the board and management have in the Ghanaian economy; I want to congratulate Ghanaians for this opportunity and implore everyone to support and welcome FirstBank’s family in the very warm Ghanaian tradition.”
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s leading commercial bank, established over 119 years ago, has the largest and strongest balance sheets in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) and currently operates an extensive distribution network with over 750 business locations (623 branches, 61 quick service points, 69 cash centres and agencies over 2,397 ATMs and well over 9 million customer accounts.
On November 11 last year, First Bank of Nigeria, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings PLC, completed the acquisition of 100 per cent equity interest in the West Africa operations of ICB Bank which includes operations in Ghana, the Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
As a result of this acquisition, FirstBank not only consolidates its position as the largest corporate and retail banking financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa but also delivers against the bank’s ambition of winning significant market share, expanding its pan-African footprints and diversifying earnings while it delivers true value to its shareholders.
ICB Bank Ghana will accordingly be merged into its parent bank – First Bank of Nigeria – and integration is expected to be done in a smooth, gradual and systematic fashion to minimize the impact on the bank’s local customers.
In that vein, ICB Bank has assured its customers, the public and all stakeholders of a seamless continuation of banking services.
The CEO, Mrs. Giwa-Amu is a professional with a track record of performance spanning over 25 years of banking and real estate investment financing and is expected to bring to bear a wealth of experience in positioning the Bank as a leading force in the Ghanaian financial industry.