Hafiz Bakare was Chief Strategy Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Plc before moving on to serve as Managing Director/CEO, Keystone Bank Limited under AMCON transitional governance arrangement. In this interview, Bakare shares views and his contribution to building the 125 years First Bank of Nigeria, described as a focused premier banking and financial services institution, which has despite changes in leadership over decades of its existence has kept faith with the roadmap for radical repositioning. Excerpts
How does it feel to have been a part of the 125-year old premier bank in Nigeria, First Bank of Nigeria?
Great and nostalgic as I was not just a part but made some modest contributions. I first got involved with FirstBank as a Management Consultant in 1996 when I was a key member of the Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) led Enterprise Transformation Project tagged “Century II”, which laid the foundation to reposition the bank for a more successful second century of operations, maintaining leadership in a more challenging and dynamic financial services industry. Among other deliverables on that major project, I had primary responsibility for conceiving the idea of a new Consumer Banking Strategic Business Unit (SBU) and developing the SBU Strategy along with a FirstBank counterpart staff, Christy Okoye, then an Assistant General Manager who later became the pioneer Head of that SBU and eventually an Executive Director in the Bank.
I subsequently joined the banking industry and some years later in 2003 came back to FirstBank to start a career that lasted six years. I served as the Bank’s Chief Strategy Officer with responsibilities covering Strategy and Implementation (for the Bank and the Group); New Business Development; Mergers & Acquisitions; and other functions.
I remain a proud ambassador and alumnus of FirstBank, going on to become an Executive Director in Keystone Bank Limited upon nomination by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), culminating in my service as Managing Director/CEO having led the post-divestment transition of Keystone Bank upon AMCON’s successful divestment.
As someone who has handled the management of the FBN brand, what would you describe as the brand essence of the bank?
The thematic brand essence of the Bank arising from the Brand Transformation Project and which also guided management of the brand when I was in charge was: “Dependably Dynamic”. This was consistent with the two key imperatives of “Growth” and “Modernization” which underpinned the Bank’s strategic intent of being “the clear leader in the financial services industry”. Even if the actual words of the brand essence have changed based on recent rebranding efforts by the current management of the Bank, the philosophy remains the same i.e a bank that takes pride in its rich history, longevity, time honoured ethical values that confer solidity (standing “gidigba”) and safety while it has made itself nimble and modern enough to adapt to the dynamic operating environment and be strongly competitive!
If you were to put the First Bank Brand Evolution into various epochs, what would the epochs be?
For anyone who is familiar with the history of the Bank, there are different epochs depicted by periods during which landmark events, some of which I was privileged to be part of their conception and implementation, took place. I will take this from the founding of the Bank in 1894 till date over several epochs:
(1). 1894: The Bank was incorporated in Liverpool as the Bank for British West Africa after acquiring African Banking Corporation, which was established in 1892.
(2). 1896: Opened first international branch in Accra, Ghana.
(3). 1969: Incorporated in Nigeria as the Standard Bank of Nigeria Ltd.
(4). 1971: Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
(5). 1982: Established a branch of the Bank in London, United Kingdom
(6). 1996: Initiated Enterprise Transformation Project – Century II
(7). 2001: Started Century II – The New Frontier
(8). 2002: Established the first offshore financial subsidiary of a Nigerian-owned bank in the UK as FBN Bank (UK) from the erstwhile London branch.
(9). 2004: Launched New Corporate Identity From Brand Transformation Project
(10). 2005: Acquired two banks – MBC International Bank Ltd. and FBN (Merchant Bankers) Ltd. Created FBN Capital Ltd. for Investment Banking & Asset Management.
(11). 2007/2008: Floated Nigeria’s biggest offer and became the first company to attain N1trillion market capitalization. Floated first-ever hybrid capital offering out of Africa. Expanded presence in Europe with the establishment of a branch of FBN Bank (UK) in Paris, France.
(12). 2009 – 2012: Established presence in Asia and Middle East. Established insurance subsidiary in partnership with Sanlam of South-Africa. Reverted to being a limited liability company First Bank of Nigeria Ltd under a new holding company FBN Holdings Plc listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
(13). 2013 to date: Refreshed the brand with changes in the logo to portray “gold standard” among others. Established presence across Africa with full-fledged banking subsidiaries and still in progress.
What are your reminiscences on managing the corporate image of an iconic brand like FBN?
The foundation for managing the brand’s corporate image was laid by the Brand Transformation Project which was ongoing when I joined the Bank. When I later assumed the role of Chief Strategy Officer, the erstwhile Corporate Affairs Department came fully within my purview under the name Image Management in addition to the responsibilities handled by the former Chief Strategy Officer.
Brand projection and management of corporate image were then actualized and driven within the context of the larger role of the Chief Strategy Officer as strategic activities vital to corporate success. Therefore, on one hand, we drove “direct” initiatives around advertisement and significant presence in local and international media coupled with deliberate feature articles; outdoor advertising on billboards and wall drapes; sponsorship of and participation at strategic local and international events (World Economic Forum, Economist Conferences etc) with speaking opportunities at the highest level; international awards and presence at CEO and Board levels; use of Below The Line items (calendars, diaries, corporate gifts etc) as conscious means of strategic brand projection due to the quality and timeliness being competitive tools; as well as general branding.
On the other hand, my role as Chief Strategy Officer also enabled me to leverage various other initiatives within my purview and fully optimize opportunities for brand projection and corporate image enhancement. Some of these include branch development in liaison with other stakeholders complete with proper branding to enhance customer experience in the outlets; creation of new subsidiaries of the Bank and extending the group co-ordination role to ensure uniform branding across all subsidiaries both locally and internationally projecting the FirstBank monolithic brand, expansion of the Bank internationally in Asia and Europe with representative offices or branches, enhancement of the design, quality and content of the Bank’s Annual Report reinforcing the FirstBank corporate identity and the variants of the Bank’s brand colours at different times; the Bank’s hydrid offer making it the first Nigerian institution to attain N1trillion market capitalization which was well exploited in the press; Standard & Poor’s international ratings being the first in the 100-year history of the Bank and the second Nigerian corporate to obtain such thereby raising the Bank’s international profile; investor relations participation at various international fora (London Stock Exchange, IFC Washington DC, Merrill Lynch, Renaissance Capital etc) to project the brand and tell the FirstBank story usually together with the then Chief Risk Officer, Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) who later became the Bank’s CEO, subsequently Central Bank Governor and now Emir of Kano.
How were you able to surmount the challenges of managing the brand image of an old bank that still remains relevant, modern and contemporary?
It is very important to state that as Chief Strategy Officer responsible for Corporate Planning & Group Co-ordination of which the realigned Brand Management was part, I had the full support of the MD/CEO, Mr. Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe to whom I reported directly.
Mr. Ajekigbe allowed freedom of thought in the implementation of the Brand Strategy developed with my team members, drawing inspiration from the Brand Transformation Project which was aligned with the Bank’s overall corporate aspirations underpinned by the key imperatives of “Growth” and “Modernization”.
Would you say that FBN has been consistent and proactive in its strategic image management? If yes, how? If no, why not?
I would say yes. All the points made in the course of this interview clearly indicate such consistency and being strategic. The succeeding teams after I left in 2009 have built on the foundation to take the brand to another level. A number of the local and international platforms we opened up are still being leveraged to even greater extent. Event sponsorships with speaking and branding opportunities, exotic and high-profile branding of corporate events like AGMs, year-end parties etc, presence in local media for example advertisement in the business segment of the flagship Channels News At 10.00 which we initiated during my tenure has continued till date, international fora like World Economic Forum has continued to be leveraged even beyond participation.
There has also been a rebranding exercise subsequent to my exit which has reviewed the logo to give further dynamism even as the brand has remained monolithic, ensuring uniformity across all subsidiaries which have increased substantially all over Africa since I left. There is continued centralized control of brand standards and reputation management. And even though Marketing Communications is a separate Division unlike the model when I served, I believe it has been able to synchronize well with other Divisions in the Bank where such co-operation is required to enhance the image of the Bank.
Going forward, how far into the future can you see the FBN brand; and what future do you see for it?
Very far! There were moments in recent history when the continued existence of the FirstBank brand was challenged in the bid to fast-track its African expansion through a planned merger deal but the idea was eventually stepped down after series of long-drawn, rigorous and extensive reviews over a couple of years and I strongly believe that the lessons of those moments would ensure that the iconic brand continues to flourish. Even when actions might have been taken in recent times on the altar of expediency and the need to maintain lead in a fiercely competitive market, the consequences of such actions have reinforced the Bank’s resolve to stay true to its time honoured principles which have upheld it this far on its journey. Indeed, well into the future, I believe the history of the bank, the valued traditions and approach to governance will always ensure the FirstBank brand continues to exist as a major player in Nigeria, Africa and internationally.
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