As financial systems across the continent open up new opportunities, First Bank PLC plans to expand to at least four African countries during its next phase of growth.

First Bank PLC is one of Nigeria's leading commercial banks. The bank's deputy director, Ini Ebong, said that Ethiopia, Angola, Cameroon and Ivory Coast are the target countries. According to him, “there are a number of major economies with large banking pools that interest us because their financial markets are opening up.” Ebong also indicated that First Bank PLC wants to expand its presence in French-speaking West Africa in countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon. “Market opportunities exist and we are looking to continue to exploit them,” he said. For the latter, there are growing opportunities in the markets of the African continent that resemble “what we saw in the early 2000s in some of the largest African markets.”