First City Monument Bank (FCMB), through EasyAgents, its agency banking network and other channels, has onboarded and empowered one million financially challenged Nigerians through an easy access to financial services.
FCMB provided micro loans rated N40 billion to more than 300,000 beneficiaries which comprises 200,000 women traders across the country who have accessed over US$51.28 million (N28.7 billion) of the total loan.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mrs Yemisi Edun, statted:
“We are proud of our significant role in integrating Nigeria’s huge informal economy driven by small-scale farmers, traders, artisans, and other small and medium-sized businesses into the formal economy through affordable and sustainable access to financial services. Access to financial services enables prosperity and allows disadvantaged and vulnerable people to improve their lives, create wealth and reduce poverty. So, we will continue championing and executing initiatives that deepen access to affordable and sustainable financial services in our local communities to empower individuals and businesses.”
To ensure financial inclusion, FCMB also welcomed partnerships. In 2021,the Bank partnered with the World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) for a strong agency banking and financial inclusion by rolling out an integrated savings account tagged ‘Easy Account’ which seeks to empower two million farmers by 2023. More than 150,000 was reached at the the first stage of the partnership . Unbanked and under-banked farmers from Kaduna, Nassarawa, Kano, Oyo and Ogun State beneficiaries are given funds and training support through agricultural agents operating under FCMB’s agency banking proposition.
FCMB also agreed to partnership with Shee-Coops, an international organisation that aids women’s active participation in cooperatives around the world, to provide financial support to millions of women in five years to aid opportunities that improve their livelihoods.
FCMB also committed close to 10,000 agency bankers that bring easy and accessible financial millions of Nigerians in peri-urban and rural areas. They are currently driving the onboarding and empowering of unbanked and under-banked Nigerians.
Bank accounts at the moment being opened through agency bankers by unbanked and underbanked citizens which enables them to and safely make cash deposits, transfer funds, pay bills withdrawals, obtain loans, and buy airtime, , among other financial transactions. Opportunities to access the Bank’s Agric value chain platform (EasyClub) and microloans to boost their standard of living and grow businesses have also been enabled.
Conclusively, First City Monument Bank is a member of FCMB Group Plc, headed by Ladi Balogun who is the Group Chief Executive. It is worthy to note that the Bank is also committed to COVID-19 recovery, income equality and poverty reduction by relieving disadvantaged individuals and small businesses of credit optimization.
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