Tanzania: Crdb Profit in Historic High Despite Covid-19

CRDB Banks's pre-tax profit has jumped up by 35 per cent, affirming the lender's acclaimed potential, which continues to manifest amid raging stiff competition.

The largest financial services provider's pre-tax profit increased to 23 6bn/- last year from 175bn/-

reported in 2019. CRDB Group CEO and Managing Director Abdulmajid Nsekela attributed the sustained performance to on-going transformations that have "unlocked the bank's abilities", leveraging a solid customer base and a favourable business environment.

"Despite the Covid-19 disruption, we delivered a strong balance sheet underlined by strong growth in both our net interest and non-funded incomes.

We recovered in areas that had exhibited weakness in the course of the year, thanks to an adaptive strategy and timely interventions," Mr Nsekela said.

Over the past two years, CRDB's performance has strengthened on the back of strategic reforms, which continue to change the G roup's fortunes to the delight of its shareholders.

The G roup's income, the CEO said improved significantly despite a slowdown in the economy because of the Covid-19. Year-on-Year (YoY), the Group operating income registered a 10.4 per cent growth at 8 54bn/- from 774bn/- reported in the previous year while noninterest income increased by 13 per cent to 28 4bn/- from 252bn/- in 2019.

Customer deposits grew marginally by 4 per cent to 5.4tri/-, representing upward movement from 5.2tri/- reported in previous year.

"The disruption of business dented our customers' pockets as many reprioritised their expenditures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic," Mr Nsekela said.

The Group's profitability was further bolstered by its two subsidiaries, which contributed 7.0 per cent of the overall profit after tax.

CRDB Burundi performed particularly well, leveraging stable macros and aggressive sales despite the local challenges in Burundi.

The Burundi subsidiary profit grew by 75 per cent from 6.4bn/- to 11.2bn/- while the CRDB Insurance Broker posted a profit growth by 140 per cent to 3 .6bn/-.

"Our strategy to support customers during the pandemic played a major role because it allowed us to realign our plans and adapt to the changing situations," the CEO said.

Group loans and advances grew by 16 per cent to 3.9 tri/- compared to 3.4tri/- in 2019. CRDB's Chief Financial Officer, Fredrick Nshekanabo, said they managed to keep a healthy loan book maintaining a good asset quality despite the challenges their customers faced.

"We continue to monitor and work closely with our customers in sectors affected with the pandemic," Nshekanabo assures.

The lender's Non-Performing Loans (NPL) closed at 4.4 per cent from 5.5 per cent reported in 2019. The NPL was below the industry benchmark of 5.0 per cent.

The Group's assets grew by 9.0 per cent to 7.2tri/- maintaining the CRDB's leading position as the largest financial entity by asset base.

As at the end of the 2019, CRDB had a combined asset base of 6.6tri/-, which translated to a 23 per cent market