India's Union Bank Leaves Antwerp

RAPAPORT... Union Bank of India willclose its branch in Antwerp, citing the weak performance of its diamonddivision, Bloomberg reported.The office will shutwithin a year, the news service last week cited Rajkiran Rai Gundyadka, thebank's CEO, as saying. The Belgian city failed to produce "the expected amountof business, particularly from the diamond sector," Gundyadka said, accordingto the report."The viability of thebranch isn't established," the executive added.Union Bank's movefollows Dutch lender ABN Amro's closure of its diamond and jewelry lendingoperations in the US and the United Arab Emirates, which it announced earlierthis year. Belgium's KBC wound down its Antwerp Diamond Bank in 2014, while London-basedStandard Chartered decided to cease offering credit to the midstream two yearsago.Image: The Port House, Antwerp. Credit: Max Pixel