First National Bank (FNB), controlled by South Africa’s second-biggest financial services company, is eyeing Nigeria as part of its investment outpost as it seeks growth on the African continent.

FNB’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Jordan, said its executives are "jetting" to Nigeria and three African countries as it searches for growth opportunities.

The unit of FirstRand Ltd. is committed to expanding in Tanzania, Angola, Zimbabwe and Nigeria as it seeks to increase profitability outside South Africa, Jordaan was quoted to have said in Johannesburg, South Africa last week.

"We remain interested in Tanzania but are going through the various internal processes first, and we also have executives jetting to Angola, Zimbabwe and Nigeria," Jordaan said. "I have learnt that these things take time."

FNB is one of South Africa’s four largest banks. It has remained profitable in the face of an economic slowdown in South Africa and plans to move into faster-growing economies in Africa, following the lead of lenders such as Standard Bank Ltd. and Absa Group Ltd.

FNB announced its most recent expansion drive in January after it was awarded a license to operate in Zambia. The bank has opened one branch in Zambia, and plans to have six by June of next year, Jordaan said. In Mozambique, FNB has four branches, with fourteen planned by the middle of next year.

"We have not made material progress in Tanzania because it’s a long process of preparation for the license," Jordaan said. "We’ve focused on Zambia and Mozambique."

Standard Bank has in 2007 acquired the controlling stake in IBTC Chartered Bank, which has since been renamed Standard IBTC bank.

Nigerian banks have remained profitable despite the huge impact on the financial system. The greatest impact of the crisis on the financial system was on the capital market, which has lost more than 60 per cent in capitalisation.

South African businesses that forayed into Nigerian market, like MTN Communications Limited, have been quite successful. Vodacom, another telecoms operator from the country, has shown a lingering interest in Nigeria.

Nigeria currently has 24 banks, three of which have dominant foreign ownership. The statutory requirements for starting a bank in Nigeria today include a minimum equity capital of N25 billion.