Ladi Built Nigeria’s 7th Biggest Bank, While Others Chased Wall St! (The Lesson That MADE $5Bn!)

While others pursued Wall Street, Ladi Balogun built Nigeria’s 7th largest bank - unpacking how he scaled to 15M customers, navigated CEO term limits, and built a $5B institution by betting on Africa’s financial future.

Ladi Balogun is the Group Chief Executive Officer of FCMB Group Plc, a leading Nigerian financial services holding company operating in banking, asset management, pensions, and fintech. From 2007 to 2017, he served as CEO of First City Monument Bank, overseeing its expansion from 200 staff to over 15 million customers, the acquisition of Finbank, and the launch of UK operations. He previously worked at Citi in New York and Deutsche Bank in London, and today leads digital banking platform Rova while chairing FCMB Pensions and Credit Direct. His focus is scaling inclusive finance across African markets.

In this episode, Ladi reveals:
◽️ How leaving manufacturing led to building Nigeria’s 3rd largest bank—and why others missed the moment
◽️ Why “strategic naivety” was his secret weapon in scaling from 200 to 10,000 employees
◽️ How Nigeria’s CEO term limits forced him to think bigger—and launch a financial ecosystem
◽️ How digital banking became a lifeline for millions during economic instability
◽️ The single infrastructure reform he believes could ignite a 9% GDP explosion across Africa

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⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:10 Harvard MBA benefits
03:40 FCMB bank overview
05:30 Banking business segments
06:39 Investment vs commercial banking
07:33 CEO career path
09:20 Specialist vs generalist
11:19 Bank growth story
12:15 Team and naivety
14:06 Early goals: survival
15:40 Niche market focus
17:30 Digital banking strategy
19:55 CEO term limits Nigeria
20:17 Nigeria as headquarters
22:00 Customer growth figures
22:59 Balancing optimism and realism
25:53 Risk and return basics
27:23 What customers want
30:10 Providing certainty to clients
32:51 Role change: CEO to group
34:50 Leadership from sidelines
36:36 Culture of excellence 2.0
39:00 Leadership style evolving
40:53 Nigeria safety and community
43:15 Corruption realities
48:43 Nigeria investment returns
50:46 Growth obstacles
55:45 Handling high interest rates
58:32 AI’s impact on Africa
1:00:52 Future plans
1:02:54 Legacy hopes
1:03:50 Key takeaway
1:05:47 Outro

📌 Resources
Ladi Balogun
◽️ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladi-balogun-1828a724 

Harvey Bracken-Smith:
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◽️ X (Twitter): x.com/harveybsmith_

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Personable is a podcast dedicated to helping listeners become the best they can be by learning from the world’s best in their respective fields. This mission is inspired by my mother, Louise, who encouraged me to become the best version of myself before she passed away from cancer in 2023.