FIRST BANK ACQUIRED FOUR EXISTING BANKING MARKET

FIRSTBANK LTD (“First Bank Commercial Banking Group” or the “Bank”), a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc announces today that it has completed the acquisition of a 100% equity interest in ICB GHANA, ICB SIERRA LEONE, ICB GUINEA and ICB GAMBIA from INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCIAL GROUP HOLDINGS AG (ICBFGH) (the “transaction”).
The transaction has been effected through the completion of a Conditional Sale and Purchase Agreement with ICBFGH.

 Across ICB's West Africa operations First Bank has acquired existing banking operations in four new markets, with 28 branches of which 17 are in Ghana, 5 in Guinea, 4 in Gambia and 2 in Sierra Leone. ICB's West African operations employ over 600 people and their assets will enhance the Bank's balance sheet by 1.32%. With over 120,000 customer accounts and a focus on the mid-corporate, SME and retail segments ICB provides clear alignment with the Bank's existing strategic focus.

FirstBank remains the leading bank in the Nigerian banking sector with a Total Asset base of N3.3trillion (US$21.3 billion) as at 30 June 2013.

The transaction expands the Bank's geographic footprint to cover 10 markets internationally, with existing operations outside Nigeria in the United Kingdom and France through its subsidiary, FBN Bank (UK) Limited. It also has representative offices in Johannesburg, Beijing and Abu Dhabi. As a first step towards establishing a broader pan-African footprint, in October 2011, the Bank acquired a new subsidiary, Banque International de Crédit (BIC), one of the leading banks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.