first generation bank
A first generation bank is one of Nigeria's oldest banks, and age tells you about survival rather than about the rate you will be offered.
In plain English
Nigerian banks are sometimes described by generation, meaning roughly when they were established.
First generation banks are the oldest. Some trace their history back to the colonial period and before independence. They have branch networks in places newer banks have never bothered to reach, and they hold deep relationships with government and large corporates.
Second and third generation banks arrived later, frequently more digital, sometimes more aggressive, and often more willing to compete for a customer like you.
What does age actually tell you? One thing, and it is worth something. These institutions survived. Nigeria has had banking crises, consolidations and failures, and a bank that has lived through all of them has demonstrated something real.
What it does not tell you is anything at all about the rate you will be offered, the quality of the app, or how you will be treated at the counter. Age is not service, and heritage is not a return.
Bank where your money is safe. Then shop your savings, your loan and your fees separately, on the numbers, because the oldest bank in the country has never once given somebody a better rate out of sentiment.
You have banked with the same institution for twenty years out of loyalty and habit. It pays you 3 percent. A licensed competitor pays considerably more for the same money with the same NDIC protection. Two decades of loyalty earned you exactly nothing.
Questions people ask
Does generation matter when choosing a bank?
It tells you something about longevity and reach. It tells you nothing about rates, fees or service, which are what actually cost you money.
Are older banks safer?
They have demonstrated survival through past crises. But deposits at any licensed bank are insured by the NDIC to the same limit.
Should I move my savings?
Compare what you are being paid against a money market fund or treasury bills. For most Nigerians, that comparison is uncomfortable and worth making.
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