FirstBank Clarifies Misleading Reports, Reassures Customers Of Gold Standard Banking Services

<h4>FirstBank Clarifies Misleading Reports<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has clarified issues that have reported in the media space <em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;regarding a commercial transaction between First Bank of Nigeria Limited &lpar;FirstBank&rpar; and General Hydrocarbons Limited&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The bank’s clarification is reproduced below unedited<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Our attention has been drawn to recent media reports regarding a commercial transaction between First Bank of Nigeria Limited &lpar;FirstBank&rpar; and General Hydrocarbons Limited &lpar;GHL&rpar; that is currently a subject of litigation&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>As a responsible and law-abiding corporate citizen of Nigeria with utmost respect for the courts&comma; FirstBank will not be able to offer comments on issues which are pending for determination by the courts&comma; as such issues are sub-judice&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>However&comma; we are constrained to issue the following clarifications to correct the sponsored but false narratives on the matter presented in some of the media publications&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>There is a subsisting commercial transaction between FirstBank as lender&comma; and GHL as borrower&comma; where FirstBank extended several credit facilities to GHL for the development of some Oil Mining Lease assets&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>These facilities are backed by very robust loan agreements executed by the parties in which the obligations of the parties are clearly defined and the security arrangement clearly spelt out&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>While FirstBank has diligently performed its obligations under the loan agreements&comma; at the root of the present dispute is FirstBank’s demand for good governance and transparency in the transaction&comma; which GHL rejected&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Upon FirstBank’s realization of breaches on the part of GHL including diversion of proceeds&comma; FirstBank requested that an independent operator mutually acceptable to both parties be appointed in line with the terms of the agreement&comma; to operate the financed asset in a transparent manner that will bring greater visibility to the project&comma; protect the interest of&comma; and bring value to all stakeholders&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Not only did GHL roundly reject this reasonable and fair request&comma; rather GHL insisted that FirstBank avails it with more funding&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em><strong>GHL refused to execute the terms of offer stipulated by the Bank for the availment of additional funding but rather proceeded to commence needless Arbitral proceedings&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>GHL issued a notice to initiate arbitration and has no substantive claim pending at the Federal High Court&period; GHL approached the Federal High Court solely to seek preservative orders pending arbitration&period; Some of the preservative orders sought by GHL were granted while others were denied&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>FirstBank is the only party that filed a substantive claim against GHL at the Federal High Court and the subject matter of FirstBank &&num;8216&semi;s claim is not identical with the dispute GHL submitted to arbitration because FirstBank&&num;8217&semi;s claim is in respect of subsequent credit facilities granted to <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchng&period;com&sol;">GHL<&sol;a> and the offer letters and finance documents pertaining to the subsequent transactions clearly state that the disputes arising from the subsequent facilities are to be resolved by a court of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria and not by arbitration&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Consequently&comma; it is incorrect to assert that FirstBank abused the process of the court&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>GHL off-took crude from the Floating Production Storage and Offloading &lpar;FPSO&rpar; vessel and diverted the proceeds&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong> The Bank had no choice as a secured lender&comma; under these circumstances of continued breaches&comma; non-payment of due obligations and attempts to shield the Bank away from agreed security and repayment sources&comma; than to approach the court for legal remedies&comma; to preserve assets&comma; recover the diverted proceeds&comma; prevent reoccurrences and safeguard FirstBank’s interest&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>It is clear to us that the courts do not support or protect illegalities and breaches of contracts&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>FirstBank has a long and very rich history of supporting and providing for the financial needs of its customers over its more than 130 years of unbroken existence&period; FirstBank remains committed to ensuring that it continues to support legitimate business aspirations of its teeming customers&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>At the same time&comma; FirstBank is committed to the building of a strong credit culture where borrowers pay their debts when they borrow and will always take appropriate steps&comma; within the ambit of the law&comma; to resist attempts by borrowers to repudiate their repayment obligations&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>We wish to assure FirstBank’s numerous customers&comma; stakeholders and the general public that FirstBank remains solid&comma; calm&comma; steadfast and unflinching in its resolve to continue to provide first-class services to its teeming customers within and outside the country&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>FirstBank also wishes to respectfully thank our shareholders for the indicatively oversubscribed Rights Issue of its parent Company&comma; First Holdco Plc &lpar;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;FirstHoldco”&rpar;&comma; in the first round of its capital raise and looks forward to an equally successful final leg of the recapitalization exercise when it is announced by FirstHoldco&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Thank you&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;