By Peter Egwuatu

The First City Monument Bank, FCMB Plc has said that it is committed to customer-focussed products so as to enhance stakeholders’ value. Over the years, banking in Nigeria has progressed from the traditional financial service activities to become a core part of the lifestyle of individuals, businesses and societies. These days, the assessment and success of corporate organisations, including banks, are largely measured by their level of connection with the people and the customer-centric solutions they offer.  This fact was succinctly captured by Roy Spence, co-founder of GSD&M, a leading advertising firm in the United States, who declared that, ‘’every business needs to be in the business of improving customers’ lives”.

For First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, this declaration underlies its business philosophy and indeed the way to go in the drive to attain the highest levels of customer advocacy to consolidate its position as one of the foremost brand and inclusive lender. From a humble beginning, 33 years ago, as a Stockbroking Company and an Issuing House, known as City Securities Limited (CSL) and subsequently a Merchant Bank, the FCMB brand has stayed the course in spite of the challenging macroeconomic and regulatory environment.

Speaking on these developments, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr. Ladi Balogun had said, ‘’we have a great foundation to continue to build on and we are confident that our strategy is building the necessary resilience. We will continue to reinforce our position as an inclusive lender by supporting sectors that will drive the prosperity of the markets in which we operate. We will also bring greater accessibility to a broad range of financial services. By doing so, we will continue to strengthen our resolve to build a very resilient financial services franchise.”

For instance, in April last year, FCMB embarked on a massive and revolutionary brand realignment cum refresh, which led to a replacement of its former colours of black and gold with a vibrant combination of purple and yellow that speaks to a wider audience. The development also saw the launch of a new thematic campaign tagged, ‘A World of Opportunity’.  The campaign, tied to the refreshed corporate identity of the Bank, tells compelling stories of life and business aspirations of diverse Nigerians and how FCMB supports them to bring such dreams and aspirations to reality. This is in conformity to the true spirit of the brand’s pay-off line of the firm, ‘My Bank and I’.