FCMB wins most outstanding SMEs support bank award

TheFirst City Monument Bank (FCMB) has won the “Most Outstanding SMEs Friendly and Sponsorship Commercial Bank of the Year’’.

A statement from the bank said the award, which was conferred on the bank during this year’s Entrepreneur Business Summit (EBS) held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State between October 7 and 9, 2015, is in recognition of the various financial and other value-added supports which the financial institution provides to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).

Tagged ‘‘Governor Nyesom Wike (of Rivers state) EBS/ SMEs award 2015’’, it was instituted by I-Contact Connect Communication Limited, organisers of the annual entrepreneurs summit, to reward the best corporate organisations that contribute significantly to the growth of SMEs in Nigeria. This year’s summit, with the theme, ‘‘Meet the SMEs, the Open Minded Entrepreneur’’, brought together about 2,000 MSMEs from all over the country. Also in attendance were policymakers, bankers, academics and other stakeholders from the public and private sectors who discussed key issues and solutions that would boost the growth of SMEs and in turn deepen their contributions to the growth of the economy.

According to the organisers of the summit, the FCMB emerged as the “Most Outstanding SMEs Friendly and Sponsorship Commercial Bank of the Year, based on the bank’s, ‘‘integrity, uncommon SMEs drive, creativity and dominant leadership qualities’.’

Commenting on the development, FCMB’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ladi Balogun, said that the bank is pleased to have won the award and would continue to scale up its support to SMEs in line with its value as a simple, reliable and helpful financial institution. ‘‘This award is a welcome development and shows that the various initiatives and supports we provide to SMEs are yielding the desired results and are being appreciated by not just our customers, but other stakeholders’’, he stated.

Mr. Balogun added that this latest award will, ‘‘inspire us to get better. As an inclusive lender, we will sustain our investment towards the rapid growth of SMEs, because we realise the pivotal roles they play in the socio-economic development of the country’’.