Diamond Bank divests from UK, focuses on Nigerian market

Diamond Bank Plc has divested 100 per cent of its shareholding in its international subsidiary, Diamond Bank UK, in order to focus on Nigeria business, particularly the retail-banking segment.

The proposed deal is coming shortly after the bank had just concluded the sell of its West African business operations across Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal in November 2017.

According to a statement by the bank, the disposal was in line with the objective of streamlining its operations to focus more on the significant opportunities in the Nigerian retail-banking segment.

Already, the bank has signed a share sale and purchase agreement with a member of GFG Alliance, for the disposal of its entire shareholding in Diamond Bank UK.

The bank said the completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulatory Authority – the regulators responsible for banking in the UK.

The bank explained that the sale of international subsidiaries is not expected to cause service disruptions for international customers, as they will continue to enjoy enhanced and convenient banking services through the bank’s digital channels.

“By focusing exclusively on Nigeria, Diamond Bank is seeking to capitalize on the vast growth opportunities presented by Africa’s largest economy. This includes macro fundamentals such as Nigerian’s changing lifestyle preferences in favour of mobile delivered services and an emerging culture of innovation and tech-enabled entrepreneurship. “

It added that the bank would have no international subsidiaries on completion of the transaction.
The Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Uzoma Dozie said: “Diamond Bank’s strategic objective is to be the fastest growing, and most profitable technology driven retail banking franchise in Nigeria. This strategic intent requires us to optimize resources by divesting from non-core assets, and focusing exclusively on the Nigeria’s highly attractive market.

“The commercial opportunities for Diamond Bank in Nigeria are vast, due to its positive fundamentals including millions of people who are either under-banked or unbanked, high mobile phone penetration and the continent’s largest economy.