Diamond Bank Plc has disbursed over N1bn to Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) under the cash flow-based SME lending scheme.

The lender said in a statement said the loans were a reiteration of its support for SMEs.

The statement said the SME lending scheme, which was launched in January 2017 in partnership with the Women’s World Banking, featured the cash flow-based MSME lending methodology.

It said the scheme had a strategic focus on cash flow, net asset capacity, character and business proficiency of SMEs as a means of determining their eligibility to access credit.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie, described the milestone as a demonstration of the bank’s resolve to develop innovative ways of advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria.

According to him, the scheme will be a signal to many more successes to come as the bank pushes through its technology-driven retail-focused strategy, designed to position it as the most profitable and fastest-growing retail bank franchise in Nigeria by the year 2020.

“Under the lending scheme, the bank was able to disburse a total of N267m during the pilot phase, while it disbursed N750m between June and August 2018.

“Remarkably, all the loans disbursed under the scheme to the 550 small businesses are performing, despite the recipients of the facilities being first-time borrowers. We are confident that the future of retail banking belongs to banks with disruptive business models and solutions that deliver superior customer experience through strategic alliances, as well as create life-style-focused products, processes and channels,” he said.

Dozie stated that the bank’s financial inclusion strategy was the most robust and customer-centric in the Nigerian banking industry.