BY MICHAEL EBOH with Agency report
LAGOS - Diamond Bank Plc, yesterday, said it planned to pursue its growth plans through an acquisition programme that would see it expanding its branch network by more than 50 per cent over the next two years.
According to Mr. Abdulrahman Yinusa, Chief Financial Officer, of the bank, the bank intends to increase its branch network by 130, bring the total to 350 branches.
He said the bank planned to expand its loan portfolio by 20 per cent in the current year to about N80 billion.
Diamond Bank stated two days ago that it would be seeking the permission of its shareholders, by the end of April, to enter into acquisition talks with an unnamed party.
Yinusa said: "We like to keep our options open. With shareholders' approval for a potential purchase, we are ready if something comes up," adding that the bank does not have a specific target yet in its planned acquisition programme.
However, an analysts at Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Muyiwa Oni, said Diamond Bank might buy one of the three nationalised banks bailed out by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in 2009.
Oni said: "Those banks appear to be the easiest options right now. Diamond does not have the muscle to buy larger banks such as United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA."
Also, Bunmi Asaolu, Head, Equity Research, FBN Capital Limited, said: "Nationalised banks' loan books will most definitely be very clean or tiny, and the state may be willing to unload them for nothing."
Diamond Bank said in July it was in talks to buy Oceanic Bank International Plc, which was ultimately acquired by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI, in September. The company's stock was unchanged at N2.54 as at the close of business, yesterday, on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.
Vanguard Nigeria