Tanzania’s commercial banks post Sh1.2tr profit in first half

An analysis by The Citizen covering 32 licensed commercial banks shows the sector remains resilient, with rising profitability, growing digital revenue and steady credit expansion.

Sector-wide interest income grew by 12 percent to Sh2.24 trillion, while non-interest income rose by 15 percent to Sh1.29 trillion.

Total assets expanded by 3 percent to Sh68.7 trillion, up from Sh66.5 trillion in June 2024.

NMB Bank led the industry with a net profit of Sh358.57 billion, a 14 percent increase from Sh314.17 billion recorded in the same period last year.

CRDB Bank followed with Sh346.45 billion, marking a 26 percent year-on-year increase.

CRDB Group CEO and managing director, Abdulmajid Nsekela, attributed the growth to effective execution of the bank’s 2023–2027 medium-term strategy.

“The first half of 2025 has shown strong momentum across the business. From top-line income growth to balance sheet expansion, we continue to demonstrate that our strategy is working,” he said.

CRDB’s net interest income rose by 21 percent to Sh643 billion, while non-interest income, including fees, commissions and digital banking, jumped 38 percent to Sh354 billion.

 Foreign exchange earnings more than doubled, rising 81 percent to Sh73 billion.

NBC Bank posted the third-highest profit at Sh73.76 billion, up 31 percent.

Stanbic followed with Sh68.68 billion, Standard Chartered with Sh47.46 billion, Exim with Sh44.48 billion and People’s Bank of Zanzibar with Sh34.08 billion.

Azania Bank recorded one of the highest growth rates, with net profit increasing 84 percent to Sh27.73 billion, up from Sh15.05 billion.

Access Bank posted a remarkable turnaround, with profit rising by 407 percent from Sh219 million to Sh1.11 billion.

However, some banks reported weaker results. Citibank’s profit dropped by 72 percent to Sh13.96 billion from Sh50.69 billion.

Ecobank recorded a 68 percent decline and DCB remained marginally profitable after recovering from a Sh358 million loss in 2024.

KCB and Equity posted moderate improvements. KCB’s profit rose to Sh29.42 billion from Sh26.06 billion, while Equity grew to Sh18.8 billion from Sh11.39 billion, a 65 percent increase.

Tanzania Commercial Bank (TCB) registered a net profit of Sh17.84 billion, down from Sh19.98 billion, despite a 16 percent increase in net interest income to Sh64.42 billion.

TCB chief financial officer, Andrew Mlingi, said the bank saw strong balance sheet growth amid market liquidity challenges, with assets increasing 30 percent year-on-year to Sh1.95 trillion.

“This performance was driven by strategic expansion in business lending, focus on non-interest income, digital adoption and cost optimisation,” he said.

Mr Mlingi noted that customer deposits rose 25 percent to Sh1.4 trillion, while loans and advances increased by the same margin to Sh1.2 trillion.

In terms of income breakdown, CRDB led in net interest income at Sh642.62 billion, followed by NMB at Sh567.48 billion and Stanbic at Sh91.29 billion.

CRDB also topped non-interest income at Sh353.9 billion.

Some banks, however, experienced drops in non-interest earnings.

Standard Chartered saw a 38 percent decline in this category despite remaining among the top five most profitable banks.

Citibank and Ecobank also reported double-digit declines in both interest and non-interest income.