Atlas Mara, the listed Africa banking group co-founded by Bob Diamond, on May 26 said high operating costs and bad loans in Zimbabwe dragged it to a $6.7 million net loss in the first quarter.
Weak currencies in the countries Atlas Mara operates in, including Nigeria and Zambia, wiped $1.1 million from first-quarter results. Costs to acquire Finance Bank of Zambia and make other potential purchases were $6 million. Revenue in the three months was $51.9 million, up 30% on the same 2015 quarter.