FirstBank, West Africa’s premier financial institution, has once again solidified its reputation for responsible banking by winning Nigeria’s Best Bank for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025. The ceremony, held recently in London, recognized FirstBank’s outstanding leadership in sustainable finance and inclusive development.
This marks the second consecutive year the Bank is receiving the prestigious award—an affirmation of its deep-rooted commitment to responsible business practices and sustainable growth.
The Euromoney Awards for Excellence are considered one of the most respected accolades in global banking. Winners are selected based on performance, strategic innovation, and measurable impact.
Strengthening ESG in Practice
In 2024 alone, FirstBank screened 237 transactions worth over ₦3 trillion for sustainability risks, integrating ESG principles into its lending processes. The Bank also launched a large-scale tree planting campaign in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), with over 30,000 trees planted in 16 states—a step towards its goal of 50,000 trees by the end of 2025.
The initiative is projected to absorb 720 tonnes of CO₂, boosting environmental resilience and biodiversity preservation in Nigeria.
Empowering Women and Promoting Inclusion
Through its FirstGem Gender Market Strategy, FirstBank disbursed over ₦43 billion in loans to women-led businesses in 2024, empowering female entrepreneurs nationwide. The Bank’s FirstMonie agent network also processed transactions worth over ₦9 trillion, expanding financial services to underserved communities.
Building ESG Capacity Across the Board
FirstBank trained over 9,000 employees on sustainability and ESG standards, while more than 2,000 SMEs and corporates benefited from its educational webinars and workshops. The FirstBank Women Network further supported over 2,000 female employees, nurturing leadership and diversity in the banking sector.
Leadership Remarks
Patrick Akhidenor, the Bank’s Chief Risk Officer and Chairman of the Sustainability Committee, said:
“We are honoured to receive this prestigious award for the second time in a row. It is a validation of our efforts to create a sustainable and inclusive future. Our approach to sustainability is anchored on education, health and welfare; diversity and inclusion; and climate-conscious lending and procurement.”
He reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to purposeful ESG strategies, saying,
“We remain focused on driving impact through inclusive growth, ensuring our initiatives continue to create meaningful change in communities across Nigeria and beyond.”
As FirstBank moves forward, its vision to be Africa’s bank of first choice continues to drive its journey—leading with purpose, innovation, and a firm commitment to sustainable development.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited “FirstBank”, established in 1894, is the premier bank in West Africa, a leading financial inclusion services provider in Africa, and a digital banking giant.
FirstBank’s international footprints cut across three continents ─ Africa, Europe and Asia, with FirstBank UK Limited in London and Paris; FirstBank in The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; FBNBank in Senegal; and a FirstBank Representative Office in Beijing, China. All the subsidiary banks are fully registered by their respective Central Banks to provide full banking services.
Besides providing domestic banking services, the subsidiaries also engage in international cross-border transactions with FirstBank’s non-Nigerian subsidiaries, and the representative offices in Paris and China facilitate trade flows from Asia and Europe into Nigeria and other African countries.
For over 13 decades, FirstBank has built an outstanding reputation for solid relationships, good corporate governance, and a strong liquidity position, and has been at the forefront of promoting digital payment in the country with over 13 million cards issued to customers (the first bank to achieve such a milestone in Nigeria). FirstBank has continued to make significant investments in technology, innovation and transformation, and its cashless transaction drive has been steadily accentuated with virtually over 25 million active FirstBank customers signed up on digital channels including the USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code.
With over 43 million customer accounts (including digital wallets) spread across Nigeria, UK and sub-Saharan Africa, the Bank provides a comprehensive range of retail and wholesale financial services through more than 820 business offices and over 280,000 agent locations spread across 772 out of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
In addition to banking solutions and services, FirstBank provides pension fund custody services in Nigeria through First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited and nominee and associated services through First Nominees Nigeria Limited.
FirstBank’s commitment to Diversity is shown in its policies, partnerships and initiatives such as its employees’ ratio of female to male (about 41%:59%; and 37% women in management roles) as well as the FirstBank Women Network, an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and increase the participation of women at all levels within the organisation. In addition, the Bank’s membership of the UN Women is an affirmation of a deliberate policy that is consistent with UN Women’s Women Empowerment’s Principles (WEPs) ─ Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Nondiscrimination.
For six consecutive years (2011 – 2016), FirstBank was named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” by the globally renowned The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group and “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” eight times in a row, 2011 – 2018, by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards.
Significantly, FirstBank’s Global Credit Rating was A+ with a positive outlook while ratings by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s were A (nga) and ngBBB+ respectively both with Stable outlooks as at September 2023. FirstBank maintained the same level of international credit ratings as the sovereign; a milestone that was achieved in 2022 for the first time since 2015.
In 2024, FirstBank received notable international awards and accolades. Some of these include Nigeria’s Best Bank for ESG 2024 and Nigeria’s Best Bank for Corporates 2024 both awarded by Euromoney Awards for Excellence; Best SME Bank in Africa and in Nigeria by The Asian Banker Global Awards; Best Private Bank in Nigeria and Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa by Global Finance Awards; Best Corporate Bank in Nigeria 2024, Best CSR Bank in Nigeria 2024, Best Retail Bank in Nigeria 2024, Best SME Bank in Nigeria 2024 and Best Private Bank in Nigeria 2024 all awarded by the Global Banking and Finance Awards.
FirstBank has continued to gain wide acclaim on the global stage with several international awards and recognitions received so far in 2025 which includes Best SME Bank in Nigeria 2025 and Best SME Bank in Africa 2025 by The Asian Banker; Best Private Bank in Nigeria 2025 and Best Private Bank for Sustainable Investing in Africa 2025 by Global Finance Awards; SME Financier of the Year in Nigeria 2025 by The Digital Banker Global SME Banking Innovation Awards; Best Retail Bank in Nigeria 2025 and Best Bank for Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria 2025 all by The Annual Global Economics Awards.
Our vision is “To be Africa’s Bank of first choice” and our mission is “To remain true to our name by providing the best financial services possible”. This commitment is anchored on our core values of EPIC – Entrepreneurship, Professionalism, Innovation and Customer-Centricity. Our strategic ambition is “To deliver accelerated growth in profitability through customer-led innovation and disciplined execution.”
