Wednesday,November 11, 2020 / 10:50AM /FCMB / Header Image Credit: FCMB

First CityMonument Bank (FCMB), a foremost financial services provider inNigeria, has been voted as the Best SME Bank in Africa. The Bank won the prestigiousaward at the Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Regional Awards heldvirtually on November 5, 2020. The development is another confirmation ofFCMB's outstanding performance in offering exceptional services, includingfunding, capacity building and other value-added supports, to Small and MediumScale Enterprises (SMEs).

The Asian Banker is an authoritative platformfor strategic business information for the financial services industryworldwide. The annual Awards organised by the firm is one of the mostcomprehensive, transparent and respected in the industry covering the fullspectrum of topics and areas that constitute the financial services system.

According to the Asian Banker, FCMBemerged as the Best SME Bank in Africa following, "series of onlinesurveys across the region to gather feedback from thousands of customers permarket. In the survey, we also asked customers to rate how well their mainBanks have helped them during the crisis. The results and rankings are a truereflection of the voice of the customers".

The organisers further statedthat, "FCMB has introduced various digital initiatives into the SMEssegment, such as digital loan products (Quickloans) and its New Mobile bankingplatform. In addition, the Bank launched a platform, which was a first of itskind, to help women owned businesses scale up, by leveraging access tofinancing schemes, mentorship programmes, as well as training and networkingopportunities. FCMB has equally helped SMEs to enhance capacity, therebyimproving their business operations, connect with peers and access to trustedservice professionals. The Bank has a 25% market share in the SMEbusiness, and in 2019 had more than 300,000 new accounts in this segment. Wecommend FCMB for its incredible contributions towards ensuring the growthand sustainable development of SMEs within the region". 

Commenting on the award, the Managing Directorof FCMB, Mr. Adam Nuru, described it as another milestone and a cleardemonstration that the various strategic initiatives and solutions offered bythe Bank are yielding the desired results and appreciated in Nigeria andinternationally.

According to him, "we are excited to havebeen recognised by the Asian Banker for our market leading propositions andsupport to SMEs, which continue to make real impact on businesses and theeconomy in general. This award is another validation that we are on track inour customer-centric approach to financial services delivery. We will continueto expand the frontiers of our innovation and go the extra mile to deployofferings that consistently enhance customer experience. We thank theAsian Banker and the respondents for considering us worthy as the Best SME Bankin Africa. We dedicate this award to our customers who have made FCMB whatit is today".

Speaking while receiving the award, theExecutive Director, Business Development, FCMB, Mrs. Bukola Smith, stated that,"as a resilient, inclusive and responsive institution, we have continuedto deploy solutions to transform the challenges posed by COVID-19 toopportunities for our customers by leveraging on our robust technology, digitaltransformation drive and highly professional team. Our SME Bankingofferings have significantly changed lives through job and wealth creation, amongother benefits. This is because, we believe that the only way we can succeed iswhen our customers succeed. We are very proud to be the Best SME Bank inAfrica, particularly coming after KPMG rated us as the Best SME Bank in Nigeriain the 2019 Nigeria Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey report. Thislatest award will undoubtedly inspire us to perform better". 

For more information about FCMB and itspropositions for SMEs, please visit www.fcmb.com/business-banking.

Related News

1.      Banksin H1 2020: Deconstructing Banks' H1 2020 Individual Performances - FCMB

2.     FCMBNotifies of Delay in Filing of Q3 2020 Results

3.     FCMBForum: Stakeholders Believe Nigeria Can Leverage Agritech To AchieveCompetitiveness

4.     FCMBClarifies Position on N573 Million Transfer

5.     FCMBGroup Q2 2020 Results Review: Valuation at a Sizable Discount to Sector

6.     FCMBGroup Plc H1'20 Unaudited Results - Stable Performance Despite Cloudy BusinessClimate

7.     FCMBNotifies of Board Meeting Resolutions

8.     FCMBNotifies of Board Meeting Date and Commencement of Closed Period

9.     Moody'sAnnounces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings of FCMB Limited

10.  FCMB Pensions Limited agrees to the 96%acquisition of AIICO Pensions Limited