Bob Diamond likes a risk and his Zambian target really is one

Outlook

Private equity firm Carlyle is out of his consortium, but his ambitions to take over part of the business he used to run remain undimmed and Diamond continues his bid for Africa (EPA)

Bob Diamond has never been one to shy away from risk. The former Barclays boss, who quit the bank during the Libor scandal, spends much of his time now at Atlas Mara, a London stock market vehicle he launched to invest in African financial companies.

Atlas has done a few deals in fast-growing parts of the continent, snapping up banks in places like Rwanda and Nigeria that hold great promise of rapid economic growth. I’ve always had a hunch that Mr Diamond’s close friendship with Tony Blair – famed for his curious mixture of diplomacy, charity and business in the region – can’t do any harm in this endeavour.

On Thursday, Atlas finally admitted what Independent readers have known for some time – that it is in talks to buy the wealthy tycoon Rajan Mahtani’s Finance Bank Zambia.

That will make for a good fit with Atlas’s existing bank in the country, ABC. But Finance Bank has been mired in controversy over the years, and was even seized by the country’s central bank in 2010 before being returned to Mr Mahtani when a new government came to power.

Despite Finance Bank’s rocky history, Atlas is looking at paying a chunky $60m (£40m). That’s far more than local speculation had it a few weeks back.

An enlarged, stable bank with a clear and transparent ownership structure would be good for Zambia. Let’s hope Mr Diamond has done his due diligence and his gamble comes off.