Diamond Bank Sacks 200 Workers

Diamond Bank Plc has fired 200 members of its workforce as the economic challenges affecting the country continue to batter the financial services industry.

This is coming two months after the bank announced that its profit before tax for the first quarter of this year fell to N6.04bn from the N7.94bn it recorded in the first quarter of 2015.

The slowdown in the economy has fuelled a high non-performing loan rate in the banking system, causing banks to record sharp decline in their profits for the 2015 financial year and the first quarter of 2016.

Diamond Bank was said to have fired the workers on Friday.

Confirming the development in a statement on Tuesday, the lender said the sacking of the 200 workers was in line with its strategic plan to drive shareholders’ value.