CRDB Bank first
virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was attended by 1,500
shareholders has unanimously approved dividend increase of
The AGM also unveiled plans to open a subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The shareholders
online meeting okayed dividend of 17/-a share with its payment scheduled
to start today for financial year that ended last December an increase
from the 8/-per share that was issued in 2018.
CRDB Chairman Mr
Ally Laay said, when presenting a report for all the three business
groups within the bank, expressed gratitude to shareholders for joining
the meeting as well as their committed support, which has made the
lender wax stronger.
He said, "The board
has adopted strategic initiatives that seek to provide investors with a
stronger, stable and sustainable form of capital distribution so as to
maximise long-term share value for shareholders whilst collaborating
with the management to inculcate a high-performance culture that will
yield positive returns"
Mr Laay also
announced that the group has its eye on growth prospects "in new markets
and is currently very well positioned to make entry into DRC"
According to the
Pan-African bank, plans were afoot for the AGM to be held mid last month
at the Arusha International Conference before the novel coronavirus
crisis supervened, making the innovators to go 100 percent live on
digital platform.
Speaking at the
online AGM, the Group CEO and Managing Director of CRDB, Mr Abdulmajid
Nsekela, said the lender businesses continue to improve with growth in
all key indicators, such as loans and advances, deposits and assets.
"Our customer base
also grew by 50 percent across the Group from 2 million to 3 million.
Overall customer satisfaction has shown positive trends, as a result of
our transformational efforts in digitizing our customer feedback routes
and service touch points," Mr Nsekela said.
The bank chief said
further that the Group has improved its asset quality by reducing the
Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) from 8.3 percent to 5.5 percent, which is
the biggest improvement, compared to an industry average currently
pegged at 11 per cent.
"On the innovation
front, we keep soaring. In the last financial year, we have launched
several innovative financing solutions for different sectors and
customer segments aiming at addressing financial challenges that impede
growth," the Group CEO states.
Speaking on the
Groups earnings, Frederick Nshekenabo, CRDB Bank's Group Chief Finance
Officer (CFO), said earnings remained strong with the Group expanding
its overall market share in Tanzania to slightly above 20 percent.
The CFO further
notes that the Group's Return on Equity (ROE), improved near-double to
14.7 per cent, a rate higher than the industry average currently at 8.0
per cent and that net interest income grew 19 percent to 526bn/-, driven
by retail loans, investment in government securities and reduced
funding costs. Non-Interest Income grew by 15 percent to 253bn/-.
Most of
shareholders in attendance commended the Board of Directors for the
decision to go ahead with the AGM by virtual means reiterating that it
was a proof of the bank's preparedness and agility.
One of the
shareholder Mr Mchiwa Madumba Chedego, said the virtual AGM has been a
testament to the bank's innovation drive that enhances banking
experiences and should become a common AGM practice to ensure
stakeholder access from anywhere in the world.
"The result is
encouraging and the dividend is growing. We urge the Board, Management
and Staff to continue in this positive direction. We look forward to
seeing more value and gains this year," he said.
The bank posted a
profit after tax of 120.1bn/-for the year ended last December,
representing an 87 per cent growth from 64bn/-reported in 2018.
CRDB Group also
comprises of CRDB Bank Insurance Brokerage and CRDB Bank Burundi, which
is the first overseas subsidiary in the neighbouring Burundi, a part of
the regional expansion plan in East Africa.
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