CRDB profit balloons 46pc in 2015

Customers at a Credit Bank banking hall. The lender plans to tap into FEP’s client base once the investor comes on board. PHOTO | FILE 

By JOHN GACHIRI, jgachiri@ke.nationmedia.com

DAILY NEWS Reporter

CRDB Bank has posted an increase in net profit of almost 46 per cent in 2015 to cement its position as the biggest bank in terms of balance sheet and branch network.

The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) registered bank, which has a subsidiary in Burundi, announced a profit increase of 46 per cent to 139.28bn/- for the Group compared to 95.64bn/- of 2014.

The bank’s net interest income generated mostly to the profitability after contributing 390.99bn/- last year from 276.18bn/- of 2014. While, non interest income generated 180.32bn/- last year against 151.09bn/- of 2014, as fees and commissions contributing 143.96bn/-.

CRDB, now with 199 branches in Tanzania and Burundi, has 2,651 staff. Its basic earnings per share climbed up to 53/- from 44/-. Despite a good performance, the bank share price, however, slid by 1.26 per cent since the beginning of this year to 395/- at close of the market last Friday.

The profitability was also the results of ballooning of the loan portfolio that rose to 3.3tri/- at the end last year’s last quarter from 3.0tri/-. The lending assists the assets growth after it grew to 5.43tri/- from 5.27tri/- to make it the largest amount to be ever reached by any financial institution in the history.

On other hand, customers deposits also climbed to new record after reaching 4.14tri/- from 4.02tri/-. However, the non-performing loan ratio slowed down to 6.4 per cent from 7.0 per cent though the ratio is still higher than recommended benchmark of 5.0 per cent.

The bank late last year announced plans to open branches in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, in a move to beef up CRDB region expansion.

In the last two years the bank opened 60 branches countrywide in two years and goal was to bring services closer to its customers.

Moreover, the bank had opened more than 36 service centres as well as improving the mobile and internet banking services so that their customers can access the services wherever they are.