BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

First City Monument Bank Plc, FCMB, has said that complete integration of its business operation and legal framework with its merging partner, Finbank Plc, will take full effect before the end of second quarter of the year, specifically by July 1, 2012.

According to a statement from the bank, the full integration indicates that FCMB, which formally concluded its acquisition of FinBank in February 2012, has set four-month deadline for full operational integration which is shorter than recent mergers in the Nigerian banking sector.

The statement further noted that investments in the integration would ensure seamless merger as well as enhance customer service delivery and future growth, adding that “the two banks have a common technology platform, which will ensure a quicker, smoother and cost effective IT integration.”

Commenting on the merger, Mr. Patrick Iyamabo, Chief Financial Officer for FinBank and the Integration Director for the FinBank, FCMB merger said: “We are on track to meet our integration timeline. A rapid integration process will help contain costs, facilitate accelerated earnings accretion and fast track customer benefits.”

He added that the integration would produce significant operational synergies and value creation opportunities for customers of both banks.

“FCMB’s branch network has now effectively doubled, improving access, and customers of both banks will have a wider variety of banking products at their disposal, including FlashMeCash, Nigeria’s first  mobile payment solution, which has over 270,000 users.

“There are some early benefits for retail customers who now have a combined expanded network of more than 350 FCMB and FinBank ATMs, offering free cash withdrawals,” Iyamabo further stated.

Iyamabo observed that FCMB has set up a hotline, manned by experienced and informed personnel, for customers and other stakeholders who have questions about the merger, saying that the merger would result in some branch overlaps, which would entail limited branch closures.

“In those instances, customers will be able to use nearby branches, which will offer best-in-class products, services and technology,” he said.

Concluding, Iyamabo said, ”While the branch closures will result in some redundancies, we believe that the merger will create a platform for the bank to grow rapidly, primarily through increasing its presence in the retail market, and therefore create jobs in the long term.”