A WELCOME ADDRESS BY MR. BISI ONASANYA, GMD/CEO, FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC, AT THE ISO 27001 CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION CEREMONY, EKO HOTEL & SUITES, VICTORIA ISLAND, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 PROTOCOL:

On behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of First Bank of Nigeria Plc I am pleased to

welcome you to this celebration of another pioneering achievement by our Bank. We can all

testify that even the brightest of students is apprehensive of examinations in one way or the

other. It is not surprising, therefore, that institutions shy away from seeking certifications that

require rigorous preparatory processes, especially certifications administered by globally

reputed institutions.

It is people and organisations which are prepared and daring that always win. It is not different

with us at FirstBank, because the history of our great institution has thrust on us the revered

duty to pioneer innovations in the Nigerian banking and financial services landscape. We have,

however, reached beyond the industry, in this instance, to become the first organization in

Nigeria to be awarded the Information Security Management Systems ISO/IEC 27001:2005

Certification, acclaimed as the world’s highest accreditation for information protection and

security from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

This Certification is an affirmation that our Bank has adopted and complied with the highest

known management standards in information security in the world, a process that involved

auditing and verification of the Bank’s Information Security Management Systems (ISMS)

practices by the British Standard Institute (BSI), a leading organization in the field of auditing

management systems and processes. I am happy to inform you that we share this place of pride

with institutions like the IMF and World Bank which are among other financial Institutions that

have such certification by the ISO.

We are delighted, indeed, that beyond attaining the ISO 27001 Certification for the Bank, in our

little way, our organization has been able to bring glory to Nigeria with this landmark which is

poised to increase the confidence of both our customers and investors in the Nigerian economy.

This is significant to us because we take pride in staying at the vanguard of driving financial

services dynamics in addition to institutionalising and setting the pace in ethical business

practice in financial services and promoting the national economy. More importantly, our

customers will increasingly enjoy the benefits of this standardisation certification which include,

among others, systems interoperability, quality assurance, due diligence, progressive bench

marking and security consciousness, as well as the maintenance of the confidentiality, integrity

and availability of our information assets.

The ISMS Certification project is part of our broad Risk Management certification programme

code-named FirstSecure. FirstSecure is indicative of our mission to operate the best possible

information security systems. The FirstSecure programme has three focus streams and is

expected to meet the requirements for:

• Certification in ISO27001 (Information Security);

• Certification in BS25999 (Business Continuity Management); and

• Certification in ISO38500 (IT Governance)

Information assets are critical asset of the Bank and require adequate protection at every point.

FirstBank considers the protection of its information assets critical to its business continuity and

sustenance, hence, we have embarked on measures that will ensure that information assets are

adequately protected at all times. Commitment to this responsibility is shared by the Board and

all staff of our Bank. That is why today FirstBank can boast of the highest number of BSI

certified Lead Auditors in the entire Nigerian market.

I am pleased to salute members of our Information Security Forum for their contributions to the

realization of this coveted Certification. The Forum serves as a regular meeting arena for

Management staff to deliberate on security trends and emerging issues, establishing and

maintaining organization-wide information security (policy, standards and procedures) and

ensuring staff compliance with these standards. But let me remind the members of the ISF that

their job is just beginning, because one of your responsibilities is to ensure the continuous

maintenance of the certification standards upon attainment.

I also commend staff of Information Security Management, Document Management Unit,

General Services, Information Technology, Internal Control & Reconciliation, Internal Audit,

Human Capital Management & Development, Security Services, Operational Risk Management,

Compliance, Corporate Communications, and indeed all members of staff for their commitment

and concerted effort in achieving this feat. I wish to state the Board and Management’s

continued commitment to information security across the Bank.

Today, we have the honour of are being honoured by the presence of the man who initiated this

risk management project in FirstBank during his tenure as Chief Risk Officer and nurtured it

through his tenure as GMD/CEO of this great Bank. Ladies and gentlemen, I am referring to my

brother and friend, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,

(more popularly known SLS). We have indeed kept his dreams alive and should there be

another auditing of the financial sector, kindly remember that FirstBank is ISO-certified. I

sincerely hope that will suffice.

We must also appreciate the Chief Risk Officer of our Bank, Mrs. Remi Odunlami for

championing this certification. We cannot under estimate the tireless efforts of some of our staff

in ensuring that the Bank complied with the set standards of the ISO and consequently merit

today’s certification. They will be presented with the BSI Lead Auditors Certificates during the

course of this event – you may term that part of the earthly reward for their efforts.

I wish to also appreciate Otunba Adeleke Adesina, Chairman Global Infoswift and the entire

Global Infoswift team, our consulting partners that are providing the required guidance in the

FirstSecure journey.

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for joining us in this memorable celebration of the

FirstSecure bank in Nigeria.

Thank you.

Bisi Onasanya GMD/CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Plc