Access Bank has acquired Diamond Bank as confirmed by Cableng, who
alleged that the official announcement of the transaction will be made
in the course of the week by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This
is coming after Diamond Bank announced its decision to drop its
international operating licence, to focus on national operations
following capitalisation issues. Sources alleged that the acquisition
was midwifed by the CBN in a bid to further consolidate the banking
industry.
Uzoma Dozie, Diamond bank’s chief executive officer, who confirmed the development in a statement released on Friday, said;
“With this approval, the bank will cease to operate as an international bank,” Dozie had said.
“The
re-licensing as a national bank supports Diamond Bank’s objective of
streamlining its operations to focus resources on the significant
opportunities in the Nigerian retail banking market, and the economy as a
whole.
“The move follows Diamond Bank’s decision to sell its
international operations, which included the disposal of its West
African Subsidiary in 2017 and Diamond Bank UK, the sale of which is
currently in its final stages.
“The change to national bank
status also enables the bank to maintain a lower minimum capital
requirement of 10 per cent, as against 15 per cent required for
international banks.”
Reports of Access Bank acquiring Diamond
Bank is coming, after Diamond bank recorded its worst month on record in
November with share plunging to 0.61k per unit on November 30, 2018.
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