New diamond lender as banks abandon industry

As major banks abandon the diamond-trading world, one new lender is preparing to jump in.

Dfin, a London-based corporate finance firm that specialises in the diamond sector, plans to lend $250m (€212.5m) to diamond polishers, cutters and traders (known in the industry as the midstream) in the next two years, according to Dfin pitch documents. Within the next four years, it aims to expand lending to about $375m, the documents show.

The diamond midstream, dominated by Indian and Jewish family businesses, makes up the invisible link between African mines and jewellery stores in New York, London and Hong Kong. The companies are heavily dependent on trade finance to buy rough stones, yet that money is drying up.