Diamonds are supposed to be forever! An Update

After all the denials of Diamond Bank, Access Bank and Diamond Bank merger is finally made public. They are out with the truth. I learnt from the Sanusi Lamido era in Central Bank that you can never trust bankers. Beneath all those power suits there is more than you can imagine. Bad loans, wrong decisions, board members resigning Paschal Dozie really disappointed some of us. You would think that Diamond Bank was as solid as a rock! Diamonds are supposed to be forever. Who loses in the mix? Only the shareholders really. They have watched the stock plunge from N10 to below one Naira! Edozien and his first son get the good end of the stick. His son would probably get a place on the board of Access Bank and father will still remain a billionaire. Such is the lot of the poor shareholder! The Diamond group are trying hard to make it look like a merger with Access Bank but probe deeper and you will find its an acquisition. In a heated debate I had a couple of days ago some people tried to blame the economy and Buhari for the dip in the fortunes of the bank. That is not so. Its bad management. Faulty decisions on the part of the Edozien scion. Word in banking circles had it that international investors were willing to come on board if the scion resigned as MD, but the elder Edozien would never have it. Either the bank remains in the family or goes into acquisition. A sad pot of affairs for those who saw the bank as "their" bank. Word on the street has it that thousands might be laid off from the acquisition process. Knowing the Access style of banking which is leaner on staff and aggressive with marketing; People in banking point to the Intercontinental example. A sizable number of Erastus Akingbola's staff were laid off when they were acquired. Access is getting bigger and stronger. Perhaps they owe their management style to their root. Access has key foundation staff coming from GTB who are also known for the leaner and meaner approach to management.