Aug 10 (Lagos) - Diamond bank aims to boost its loans by 25% to N 400 billion ($ 2.6 billion) this year, CFO Abdulrahman Yinusa told Bloomberg. Diamond bank did not require a bailout in 2009 from the CBN.

 

 

However its profit for half year 2011 dropped by 67% to N 2 billion. Its revenue also declined in the same period. Therefore this strategy of boosting loans in order to improve its earnings does not come as a surprise. The bank feels that it needs to do something to correct its performance in the second half of this year.

As a result of poor financial results, its stock has declined to N 4.00 altough it is trading higher by 0.5% today at the NSE. The stock has fallen 20% over the past 3 weeks. However the stock is a top pick among all Nigerian stocks according to Morgan Stanley and at FBN capital, the investment banking unit of First Bank Plc. reporting for easykobo.com on Wednesday, Aug 10 2011 from Lagos, Nigeria Source - Bloomberg news agency