As Nigeria suffers from the actual global plunge in oil price, the Nigerian banking group First City Monument Bank (FCMB) plans on expanding to at least two African countries, Bloomberg reported. We have identified a key market in East Africa and another key market in West Africa, FCMB’s Chief Financial Officer Patrick Iyamabo told Bloomberg without more details.

«Alors que le Nigeria passe par des moments difficiles, d’autres marchés sont en mesure d'offrir une forte croissance», a-t-il ajouté, indiquant que l’expansion africaine de la banque devrait être réalisée durant les trois à cinq prochaines années.

During the nine first months on 2015, FCMB’s pre-tax profit fell to N1.87 billion ($9.4 million) against N14.2 billion over the same period in 2014, mainly as a result of depreciated investment in the oil and gas industry but also because of lower revenues from trade funding.

This year, the Nigerian Stock Exchange listed bank intends to reduce its exposure to the oil and gas sector and prioritize loans to companies operating in the retail and large-scale distribution as well as exporting firms.