First National Bank secures US$85m funding from DEG

0
First National Bank CEO hails Ghana.Gov payment platform
Dominic Adu, CEO of First National Bank Ghana

DEG has given a total of US$85 million long-term loan facility to First National Bank Ghana. This is part of its support for financial institutions to widen the access to credit for SMEs and businesses within the real estate value chain in developing countries who may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

FNBG offers the full spectrum of banking services to retail and commercial clients. Having acquired and merged with the erstwhile GHL Bank, leading provider of private real estate finance in Ghana, this funding is timely to expanding the bank’s asset portfolio.

Petra Kotte, Head of division Financial Institutions and German Business at DEG explained that this funding is a clear signal of DEG’s confidence in Ghana’s economic development. “With our commitment in Ghana, we are strengthening the real estate sector for private households. We also support SMEs, which are important employers and the driving force behind the private sector, especially in the current situation.”, he said.

Dominic Adu, CEO of First National Bank expressed his appreciation for the funding by DEG and explained that this will enable First National Bank Ghana to scale up its provision of financial supports and further enhance the commercialization of infrastructure across the country.

“Indeed, the world at large is still dealing with the impact of the pandemic, but we have seen a tremendous rise in SMEs as well as the housing and infrastructure industry over the past few years in Ghana. We cannot downplay the importance of scaling up the available financial support that will help minimize the impact of the pandemic on these businesses. That is why we will capitalize on funding from institutions like the DEG to engineer the expansion of real estate developments and sustainability of business operations in Ghana”, Dominic emphasized.

FNBG was founded in 2015 with a strong digital banking focus and has been developing successfully ever since. With over 500 employees in Ghana and an extended branch network across Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western Region, the bank is expected to run a profitable operation with its sustainable business model in the coming years.

FNBG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Africa’s FirstRand Bank (FRB), one of the country’s leading financial institutions. DEG has been supporting FirstRand Bank since 2002. Last year, it provided FRB with a long-term loan of USD 50 million, its largest financing project in Africa to date.

Leave a Reply