By Dipo Olowookere
There are strong indications that fresh funds would be injected into Diamond Bank Plc from new investors interested in the Nigerian tier-2 lender.
However, to make this a reality, some key members of the board of directors of the bank had to be sacrificed to make way for representatives of the new moneybags in the board.
Lately, shareholders of Diamond Bank had not been happy with the results of the financial institution.
Specifically, they have not been comfortable with the management style of the Managing Director/CEO, Mr Uzoma Dozie.
In fact, some of the shareholders had been asking for his removal to allow the lender favourably compete well with its peers in the banking industry.
Business Post gathered that the new investors are interested in Diamond Bank because they see the “huge prospect” the company has as a tier-2 bank.
They believe that with their investment in the bank, the company will turn out to be one of the major forces to reckon with in the sector.
Yesterday, the management of Diamond Bank released a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) confirming the exit of its Chairman, Mr Oluseyi Bickersteth, and three other directors from the board.
However, in the statement, the bank explained that the reason the four directors were resigning was mainly due to “varied personal reasons.”
Apart from Mr Bickersteth, the three other non-executive directors leaving the board “with immediate effect” are Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, Mrs Juliet Anammah and Mrs Aisha Oyebode.
“The directors are resigning for varied personal reasons, which will include focusing on their priorities.
“Diamond Bank will update the market with any further developments in due course,” the statement signed by the company’s Secretary/Legal Adviser, Uzoma Uja, said.
From what Business Post gathered, the new investors will enter bank through off-market deals.
