The founder of FCMB, Subomi Balogun, has died.
He died in London Friday morning.
Mr Balogun celebrated his 89th birthday in March.
Born on March 9, 1934 in Ijebu Ode, Otunba Balogun graduated from Igbobi College and studied Law at the London School of Economics. After he bagged his law degree, he returned to Nigeria and joined the Ministry of Justice of the Western Region as a Crown Counsel. He later became a Parliamentary Counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
With the fall of the First Republic, Balogun joined the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), where he advocated for the establishment of merchant bank. He joined ICON Securities, a merchant banking outfit established in 1973 as a subsidiary of NIDB, and became a director of operations at ICON Ltd.
A direct descendant of Oba Tunwase of Ijebu-Ode, Otunba Balogun was the Olori Omoba (head of princes) of Ijebuland and the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians.
Otunba Balogun later founded City Securities, a stock broking and issuing house, which handled Mobil, Texaco and Total petroleum marketing companies equity offerings. Balogun secured a merchant banking licence to establish First City Merchant Bank. The operations of the bank began in 1983.
When the operations of the bank took effect in 1983, Balogun was said to have established an entrepreneurial culture at the new bank, unique as an owner managed bank in contrast to the government owned banks at the time.
Balogun was a long time member of the council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
More details later….
