FirstBank Nigeria screened 505 corporate transactions worth more than N10 trillion for environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in 2025, more than twice the number assessed the previous year.

The bank disclosed this at the inaugural Annual Sustainability Conference of the Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN) in Lagos, sponsored by FirstBank and themed, “The Adaptive Enterprise: Sustainability Strategies for Challenging Times.”

FirstBank said the sharp increase reflected the growing integration of sustainability considerations into its credit and risk management processes.

Speaking at the conference, FirstBank Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Olusegun Alebiosu, represented by Executive Director, Risk Management, Adebiyi Olagbami, said economic difficulties had made sustainability more important rather than less relevant.

He cited currency volatility, inflation, tighter capital conditions and weaker global appetite for ESG investments as growing pressures on businesses and financial institutions.

“Challenging times are not a reason to retreat from sustainability commitments; they are the reason those commitments were made in the first place,” Alebiosu said.

He said a credible sustainability strategy should protect institutions from environmental and social risks while creating new revenue opportunities and maintaining the confidence of customers, regulators and communities.

Alebiosu disclosed that FirstBank screened 505 corporate transactions valued at more than N10 trillion for ESG risks in 2025, compared with 237 transactions worth over N3 trillion in 2024.

A sustainability expert, Kenneth Amaeshi, President of SPIN, said Nigerian organisations needed to develop sustainability strategies that reflected local economic and social realities rather than simply replicating international frameworks.

He called for an indigenous approach that takes into account Nigeria’s development challenges and opportunities.

Kolawole Owodunni, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, represented the Authority’s Managing Director, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, and said sustainability must move from the margins to the centre of organisational decision-making.

Alebiosu said FirstBank had finalised its Green Product Credit Policy, aligning its lending standards with its Climate Policy, Environmental and Social Management System, International Finance Corporation Performance Standards and IFRS S1 and S2.

The policy includes sector-specific ESG screening for oil and gas, power, construction and agriculture, making environmental and social considerations part of credit underwriting before financing decisions are made.