FirstBank Nigeria Ltd has expressed its appreciation to the public – especially its customers – for their continued patronage of its services during the coronavirus ( COVID -19) lockdown.
This is even as the lender has assured the public that stringent measures have been implemented to ensure its branches and locations across the country operate in line with the health and safety guidelines issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus.
Expressing the bank’s delight at welcoming customers to its branches and locations from yesterday when gradual lifting of the lockdown began, First Bank Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, noted that safety measures implemented by the lender included ensuring that wearing face masks was now mandatory; maintaining social distancing by reducing physical contact by at least one meter from the next person and queue guides and markings, as well as enhancing the practice of personal hygiene by providing hand washing stations and hand sanitisers.
Speaking on the impact made by the bank across its sub-Saharan business, Dr. Adeduntan said: “We are glad that our investment in technology over the years has really borne fruit as many of our staff were able to work remotely during the lock down with effective IT support to hand. We were therefore able to actively support our customers, their families and businesses through these challenging times.
“We ensured business continuity across eight countries – Nigeria, Ghana; Democratic Republic of Congo; Sierra-Leone; the Gambia, Guinea; Senegal and United Kingdom. We recognize that this has truly been a trying period and are poised to continue to provide as much support as we can to our customers and communities we operate in.”
The bank’s Chief Executive Officer explained that during this period it proactively reviewed products and services to support customers better and expressed his appreciation to Nigerians for the whole hearted adoption and patronage of its electronic services, as these indeed demonstrated the trust which the public repose in the bank.
He said: “It is for this reason; putting our customers first, that our bank working to regulatory, federal and state government directives worked assiduously to keep over 50 per cent of our branches open across all nooks and crannies of the country. At the same time the call centre was restaffed in the most efficient manner and retooled as we provided even more opportunities for our customers to reach us for their banking needs”
