Africa-Press – Tanzania. CRDB Bank has been named as the best lender in the country by Global Finance journal for three years consecutively.
The lender is categorised as the leading innovative bank in the country banking sector which has over 40 banks, by the well-known international magazine.
Also, the US-based financial journal said CRDB is one of the 35 best banks in Africa. CRDB’s CEO, Abdulmajid Nsekela thanked the bank’s customers and stakeholders for being part of the successful implementation of the business transformation strategy which has largely helped to win the award.
“We are proud to receive this award for three consecutive years. I thank our customers, shareholders and business partners for continuing to trust us and make us better.
“This is not a CRDB Bank award alone, it is an award for all Tanzanians,” Mr Nsekela said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The success was also due to the strengthening of the bank’s business and its participation in support of the economy in the period when the nation and the world are fighting the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiatives took by the bank to battle coronavirus last year provided relief to its customers in the sectors most affected by Covid-19.
“This helped many traders and entrepreneurs who are our clients to devise alternative strategies that led to better performance in the market,” Mr Nsekela said.
Global Finance, Director and Editor-in-Chief, Joseph Giarraputo, said the 2021 award winners were those banks that focused on enabling customers to overcome coronavirus challenges and boosts the economy.
“CRDB Bank has made a significant contribution to customers and the economy in 2020.
“It has certainly proved to be a leading bank in a way that meets the needs of customers and the community in the midst of challenges. Despite their commitment, we have seen great growth in their business” Mr Giarraputo said.
The action taken assisted a great deal to lower non-performing loans (NPLs) to 4.4 per cent last year compared to 5.5 per cent in 2019. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus, the bank made a profit after tax of 165.2bn/- which was an increase of 37.5 per cent in comparison to the previous year.
The bank also worked closely with the government to ensure that protective equipment and treatments are available in hospitals and health centres across the country by contributing to the disaster fund under the Office of the Prime Minister.
On the education front, CRDB partnered with the Tanzania Medical Association (MAT) to launch a campaign on how to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
“Our bank also ran a special campaign to encourage consumers and ‘wananchi’ to use digital services under ‘Popote Inatiki’ campaign to access services and to refrain from using cash as advised by health professionals,” added Mr Nsekela.
The bank said last year transactions conducted through digital systems including the SimBanking service accounted for 89 per cent of total lender dealings.
On the innovative award, Mr Nsekela said it was due to the new SimBanking service which enables customers to open their own accounts (Self- Account Opening).
The service has been recognized as a major contributor to financial inclusion in the country. “Technology and innovation have enabled our bank to provide better services quickly, easily and reach more people where they are,” he said.
