Ex-MD Of Diamond Bank, Alex Otti's Failed Election Bid Cost 1000 Employees Their Job

According to a revealing report, Diamond Banks Plc, has sacked over 1,000 workers because the financial institution is somehow broke and it cannot pay the workers. The report suggests that their dwindling fortune is as a result of the loss of Alex Otti, one of its former managing directors who took out huge loans from the bank to fund his political campaigns for a guber seat in Abia State under APGA which he eventually lost to PDP.

Some other reports claims that the tighter CBN monetary policy aimed at protecting the economy may also be a factor leading to the sacking of its employees. Reliable sources disclosed that the bank is also planning to reduce the number of new branches to be opened this year as a measure of combating its present predicament.

The 2015 first-quarter pre-tax profit of the bank fell by 9.5 per cent to 8.36 billion naira ($42 million) from a year earlier. The bank did not disclose why profit for the period end-March fell but said in a statement that revenue climbed 5.8 per cent during the period to 40.48 billion naira.

The banks profit after tax also fell by 10.72 per cent to N25.48 billion in 2014, compared with N28.54 billion in 2013 as regulatory induced costs continue to suppress profit. Its operating expenses also increased by 19.89 per cent to N92.86 billion in 2014 from N77.40 billion in 2013.

Cost-to-income ratio, which measures the ability of a bank in cutting costs while boosting profit, reduced to 72.30 per cent in 2014 as against 66.57 per cent in 2013. The bank has issued no communication to the effect.

Source: Huhuonline