CRDB Bank Plc named Best Bank in Tanzania

CRDB Bank Plc paints the town red by winning Tanzania’s Best Bank Award 2022 given by the Euromon­ey Magazine.

Scooping up the second Euro­money prize in this year – first timer in 2004 – was not by the twist of fortunes, but you can call that more of stepping up its game.

The hysteria around the scene brings closer to our attention, the Bank’s Group CEO and Managing Director, Abdulmajid Nsekela who admits that, “The Euro money (Magazine) award confirms CRDB’s position as a leading bank in the country.”

Also, it recognizes the success of the reform that has led to sustain­able growth of our banks and ben­efits our customers, investors and the country’s economy as whole,” Mr Nsekela told the reporter.

He says that this mid-year mile­stone reflects on the bank’s staid financial performance clinching a sustained double-digit growth over the past four years on the back of strategic reforms and innovation.

He also highlights the booming of the bank’s profit margin for the last two years where profit after tax soared up from Sh165.2 billion in 2020 to Sh268.2 billion in 2021.

This is the highest profit report­ed in the history of the Group and translates into the value of the sus­tained reforms that the bank has undertaken over the last three years.

According to him, other key win­ning metrics are the continued cycle of value generation for its share­holders (and other stakeholders) through sustainable earnings.

It has also been the leading com­mercial entity supporting the eco­nomic value chains that continue to improve the lives of individual Tanzanians and the economy.

“In an area of innovation, the bank continues to take the helm of the market share in Tanzania, life-changing innovations in the financial services sector in the areas of payments and tailored products.

The bank also prides in being a trailblazer in developing financial solutions for specific value chains in line with the country’s economic blueprint,” he notifies.

The lender underscores its sheer size of Sh9.4 trillion balance sheet as its economic booster besides financ­ing key sectors of economy such as; agriculture, infrastructure, industri­alization and tourism, among others.

Off all the efforts by the bank, you can’t simply downplay the CRDB—Burundi based subsidiary with the Group craving the regional expan­sion.

“The bank will continue to give it a whirl as now aspires to enter into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) market to facilitate bilateral trade links, considering that DRC relies on the Dar es Salaam port for both imports and exports,” explains Nsekela.

In another case, Nsekela unveils that CRDB Bank is the first commer­cial bank in East Africa to be accred­ited by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as the financial intermediary for green financing in Tanzania.

Expounding on the statement above, he says that it is also the first Direct Access Entity (DAE) to obtain approval for funding for an agriculture climate resilience and technology adaptation project that targets to impact more than six mil­lion households in Tanzania.

The last straw could be the bank’s CSR activities. The giant lender is an environmental champion – who through ‘Pendezesha Tanza­nia’ restorative program – actively engages in conserving the environ­ment through afforestation, urban hygiene and sustainable energy.

What is Euromoney?

Euromoney is a global magazine that analyses data from companies around the world and recogniz­es best-performing enterprises - including commercial banks.

Euromoney has been evaluating the world’s leading financial insti­tutions through performance data, surveys and industry awards for more than 25 years.

The annual awards for Excellence Programme (AAEP), were estab­lished in 1992 and attracted more than 1,200 submissions from the world’s leading banks. The awards recognize excellence across global, regional and individual country cat­egories.

Euromoney has a presence in more than 160 countries and over 2,500 employees located in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

How did it happen?

With its mandate to benchmark and honour awards for banks’ excel­lence, the Euromoney Awards for Excellence Programme (AAEP) reviewed the bank’s performance, against its strategy and the context of operations within Tanzania and East Africa.

The bank’s value creation and con­tribution to the economic develop­ment of Tanzania and Burundi also complimented its consideration.

What does this victory mean to CRDB Bank?

The achieved milestone trans­lates into the zeal of the bank to further growth underlined by the sound and progressive strategies inserted by the bank.

It is an oppor­tunity window for increased bank’s connection with the world, product diversity, community and stake­holders’ engagement, and top-flight innovation.

The lender, should by now look to its laurels but will not rest on it.