Access Bank has emerged winner of the Euromoney 2024 Best Bank in Nigeria Award for Excellence.
“Access Bank made profit before tax of ₦569 billion ($380 million) in 2023, a big improvement on the previous year’s ₦163 billion. This was in part due to the devaluation of the naira in 2023, but was also driven by the bank’s aggressive expansion strategy, which has seen its footprint in Africa expand and the establishment of its first branch in France.
Key to the bank’s expansion in the review period was its acquisition of five Standard Chartered subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia and Sierra Leone in July 2023.
The bank’s domestic focus has been on trade finance, and it has taken on a $60 million loan facility from British International Investment (BII) to support its provision of trade finance to five import-dependant African markets, including DR Congo, Mozambique and Rwanda.”
First Bank also has emerged as the winner of the Euromoney Award for Nigeria’s Best Bank in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) 2024.
The award honours First Bank’s contributions and unwavering commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance investments in Nigeria, facilitated through innovative financial solutions and initiatives.
Euromoney recognised First Bank’s significant progress amongst other areas in the implementation of an ESG management system, which facilitated the screening of ₦4.2 trillion new transactions for potential ESG risks in 2024.
In support of Nigeria’s green transition, First Bank funded a $10 million solar energy project, expanding access to off-grid solar solutions in Africa and Asia through a pay-as-you-go model; committing ₦16 billion to develop four modular independent power plants for a major manufacturer, enabling it to shift from diesel generators to more sustainable energy sources and significantly reducing production costs.
Additionally, First Bank started a tree planting campaign in partnership with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation to plant over 50,000 trees in 2024 demonstrating the bank’s dedication to ESG as a business agenda.
