Why CRDB expects more success in 2019

Dar es Salaam. CRDB Bank Plc said at the weekend that it expects an even more successful 2019 as it banks on technology to increase its customer base.

The lender’s net profit rose by 78 per cent to Sh64 billion from Sh36 billion in 2017.

But managing director Abdulmajid Nsekela believes the upward trend will remain and that 2019 will be even better than 2018.

“The future is exciting…the 2019 first quarter results – to be published in the coming few days - will clearly show where we are heading to,” he told journalists at the weekend.

This will be attained by concerted efforts in improving service delivery channels so that the bank can be easily accessed by clients in lower, middle and upper end segments.

“We will reach the remotest areas through the use of agents, our microfinance platform and Sim banking…We will ensure that our loans are accessible to entrepreneurs across their various trading sizes – small, medium and large,” he said.

CRDB’s agent banking platforms, known as FahariHuduma, rose to over 5,500 last year from over 3,500 in 2017 while the numbers of corporate clients making use of internet banking climbed to 87,000.

The utmost goal, said Mr Nsekela, would be to ensure that the bank plays a key role in Tanzania’s industrialization endeavors.

Last year, the bank’s deposits rose by 8.0 per cent to Sh4.7 billion from Sh4.3 billion while its assets grew by 2.3 per cent to Sh6.03 trillion from Sh5.9 trillion in 2017.

Last year, CRDB also managed to cut the ratio of its nonperforming loans to total gross loans to 8.2 per cent from 13.6 per cent in 2017.