FirstBank marks world savings day

By Chioma Obinagwam

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has said it joined the rest of the world to commemorate the 2017 World Savings Day on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

As part of the activities lined up for the day, the Bank said it took its Financial Literacy campaign to 30 secondary schools across the six geo-political zones of the country to teach secondary school students the importance of having a savings culture.

This year’s event themed “Our Future Starts with Savings” aligns with FirstBank’s FutureFirst programme, specially designed to equip students with the knowledge of money management, early entrepreneurship skills, and financial independence whilst stimulating the development of a savings culture at an early age.

The World Savings Day is an annual event designed to raise awareness on the importance of savings as a path to financial empowerment.

 The event is expected to increase the levels of financial literacy and financial inclusion, especially among the unbanked and underbanked populace globally, while it ultimately culminates in a stable and sound financial system and positive economic environment.

To encourage parents to imbibe the savings culture as well as teach their children to save,  FirstBank disclosed that it has provided two major savings products for children and teenagers.

The products, KidsFirsts (0 – 12 years) and MeFirst (13 – 17 years), have been carefully designed to meet the financial needs of the given demographics whilst also ensuring that the accounts holders acquire the rudiments of banking and financial literacy as they grow into adulthood.

Speaking on the World Savings Day, Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said,“FirstBank’s participation in the 2017 World Savings Day is one of our many interventions in Financial Literacy, as the Bank continues to entrench the savings culture across all its markets.”

“FirstBank has over several years engaged in a Savings Promo to encourage and reward savings whilst committing human and financial resources to the development of financial literacy among secondary school students under the auspices of the FirstBank FutureFirst programme,” she continued.

Only recently, FirstBank organised a week long Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability event themed ‘Promoting Kindness; Putting You First’, held in September 2017.

Among the activities lined up for the event was its astutely driven financial literacy initiative which was simultaneously held in many schools across the country, knowledgeably impacting the lives of over 2500 school children nationwide.