First Bank is one of the Truly Nigerian Companies. First Bank of Nigeria Plc for over a century has distinguished itself as a leading financial institution and a major contributor to the economic advancement and development of Nigeria.

The Bank was incorporated as a limited liability company on March 31, 1894, with Head Office in Liverpool by Sir Alfred Jones, a shipping magnate. It started business in the office of Elder Dempster & Company in Lagos under the corporate name of the Bank for British West Africa (BBWA) with a paidup capital of 12,000 pounds sterling, after absorbing its predecessor, the African Banking Corporation, which was established earlier in 1892.

In its early years of operations, the Bank recorded an impressive growth and worked closely with the Colonial Government in performing the traditional functions of a Central Bank, such as issue of specie in the West African sub-region.

To justify its West African coverage, a branch was opened in Accra, Ghana in 1896 and another in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1898.