FBNBank Ghana, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced the appointment of Mr. Gbenga Odeyemi as the bank’s new Managing Director effective May 16, 2016.

Mr. Odeyemi succeeds Mr. Seyi Oyefeso who is now the Group Executive, Commercial Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

A graduate of Finance from the Institute of Management & Technology, Enugu and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Odeyemi, whose banking career spans over 24 years, has contributed significantly to the growth of the retail and corporate banking segments of FirstBank in South Africa and various states in Nigeria, riding on his natural flair for nurturing rewarding relationships with different stakeholders.

Mr. Odeyemi also believes in entrepreneurship and thus used his entrepreneurial clout as Chief Representative Officer of First Bank of Nigeria’s Office in South Africa, to promote business opportunities between South Africa and Nigeria, earning him the role of a key member of the board of South Africa Nigeria Chamber of Commerce in 2014.

In announcing the appointment, Chairman, FBNBank Ghana, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, explained: “This appointment is a testament to the strength of our succession planning mechanisms and the caliber of candidates it produces. It also re-articulates our commitment to put our customers first with the confidence in the value that this new leadership brings to bear on behalf of the Bank, customers and employees, even as we strive to return greater value to shareholders.

"In reaching this decision we are mindful of the imperatives for a more efficient business structure that will benefit the Bank’s need to deploy systems which deepen efficiency while expanding revenue and returns on investment. We are confident that we have made the right choice and assure all our customers and prospective ones of continued growth of FBNBank Ghana Ltd”.

The Chairman further assured the stakeholders of the bank’s drive to increase customer access to FBNBank’s bouquet of products and services.

“For that reason, we will keep expanding the frontiers of financial inclusion through provision of convenient and secure banking services to our customers in enabling us realize our vision of becoming a clear leader and Ghana’s bank of first choice”, he added.