Nigeria’s Oldest Bank Rebrands As ‘First Holdco’ After Shareholder Approval

The First Bank of Nigeria is reportedly changing its name to First Holdco, following approval from its shareholders, replacing the name it has been using for the past 12 years.

The bank originally started in 1894 in Lagos, and was the country's oldest banking. The bank's financial services group, which included the flagship subsidiary First Bank, was previously known as "FBN Holdings" after rebranding in 2012 from "First Bank of Nigeria PLC," Premium Times reported.

Shareholders agreed to change the legal and brand names of the company from FBN Holdings Plc and FBNHoldings to First Holdco and FirstHoldco Plc. This decision marked the final phase of a corporate transformation that shifted the bank's operational model from traditional banking to a holding company structure.

The final step in the process involved updating FBN Holdings' memorandum and articles of association to include the new name, Premium Times reported. The company shared this update in a note to the Nigerian Exchange.

The company also announced that shareholders have approved a plan to raise N350 billion in the capital market. This could be done through a public offering, rights issue, private placement, or a combination of these methods.

Currently, FBN Holdings is conducting a share sale to existing shareholders to raise N149.6 billion to help fund the recapitalization of its subsidiaries, as required by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The new rule requires banks with international banking approval -- such as FBN Holdings, UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings, Zenith, Fidelity, and FCMB -- to increase their capital base to at least half a trillion naira by March 2026.

FBN Holdings sold its merchant banking division in September to a group of investors, including Custodian Investment Plc, Aion Investments Private Limited and Evercorp Industries Limited.

The bank separated the merchant banking business from its larger group, which also included its investment banking and asset management divisions, known together as FBN Quest.

Last month, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Olayemi Cardoso defended the bank's decision to increase the Monetary Policy Rate to 27.25%, noting that this move was necessary to control inflation and reduce excess money in the economy.