Business
Banks to start rejecting Diamond Bank cheques
BY EMEKA EJERE
Following a directive by Access Bank Plc, banks across the country have given notice to their customers that as from Febuary 27, Diamond Bank cheque will no longer be accepted for clearing at the inter-bank market.
In an email sent to its customers and made available to Business Hallmark, Fidelity Bank said that as from February 27, 2020, its branches all over the country would stop accepting Diamond Bank cheques.
The Tier 2 lender said the move was occasioned by a directive from Access Bank that Diamond Bank cheques will no longer be valid for clearing with effect from March 1, 2020.
The email reads: “As directed by Access Bank, please kindly be informed that effective March 01, 2020, Diamond Bank cheques will no longer be valid for clearing.
“In addition, Diamond Bank cheques will no longer be accepted at any of our branches, from February 27, 2020.
“For more information, please visit any of our branches nationwide, or call us on 01-4485252.”
Recall that in a move that took many industry watchers by surprise, Tier 1 lender, Access Bank and then leading Tier 2 bank, Diamond Bank had, in March last year, announced that they had received all the necessary regulatory approvals to their merger which they had announced in December 2018.
Diamond Bank had struggled since 2016 to bolster its capital following loan losses which had forced the bank to sell its foreign subsidiaries.
