After assessing the impacts of strategic restructuring it has embarked upon since first quarter, Diamond Bank Plc has said the move has yielded results in terms of progressive focus, cost containment and quality service delivery.
The bank said through prudent allocation of resources, operating costs and interest expense shrank by 2.5 per cent and 22.8 per cent, respectively in the third quarter of 2016.
But the bank said it grew its loan portfolio from N763.634bn to N1.041tn, representing 36.4 per cent increase, for Q3 2016, a statement released by the lender said.
The Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Uzoma Dozie, in the statement, said the bank’s modest growth in the last nine months despite the inclement operating environment, was the result of the management’s focus on key strategic projections across the three core segments of retail, business and corporate banking.
He noted that the bank would continue to passionately pursue its technology-driven retail strategy to optimise cost and reap predictable bountiful results in the medium to long term.
Uzoma said, “We believe the macro conditions and other external factors will remain challenging for the rest of the year and well into 2017. However, by pursuing our technology-led retail strategy and with our focus on innovation and scalability, we believe the bank is well-placed to benefit in the medium to long term from the favourable fundamentals in Nigeria, namely a large population, many of which remain unbanked.
“This strategy stands to benefit all stakeholders, including our shareholders and customers in the long run.”
Total comprehensive income declined by 26.3 per cent year on year to N13.2bn, with profit before tax shrinking to N3.5bn on the back of impairment charges as the bank opted for prudent provisioning by cleansing its books of assets with poor quality, thus paving the way for operational efficiency and improved earnings for the business years ahead.
