$1.9 Billion in Diamond Financing GONE

KBC’s announcement that it is closing down the operations of the Antwerp Diamond Bank (ADB)!
Ever since the October 2008 financial crash, it has become clear that the global banks view the financing of the diamond trade as less than attractive.

KBC’s decision means that nearly $1.9 billion in bank financing will slowly shrink to nothing. Diamond industry bankers estimate the global diamond industry’s financing at about $15 billion-$16 billion, which means that some 12% of it will be called back in, repaid and not come back, at least not in the near future.
ADB finances the most sensitive part of the pipeline – rough buying, manufacturing and polished wholesaling – that relies heavily on ADB. The most sensitive part of the industry is suffering the blow.

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But, according to The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC) they say that the closure will not affect Liquidity or Diamond Prices, and that clients are generally given upwards of 1 year to repay loans.
They also state that India is the largest consumer of gold and will soon be emerging as the largest consumer of diamonds globally.

http://www.rough-polished.com/en/news/93634.html