CRDB Bank Tanzania Seeks EAC Expansion

The CRDB Bank Tanzania, one of the largest commercial banks in the country with a network of over 62 branches and over 200 ATMs, is now looking to take advantage of the recently adopted East African Community (EAC) Common Market, which allows for free movement of labor, capital and other resources within the EAC member states.

Ms. Tully Mwambapa, the CRDB Bank’s Marketing Manager, recently announced the company’s latest market expansion program to journalists in Dar es Salaam, saying that the Tanzania bank is currently planning to not only open a branch in each of the EAC member states, but also to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) services in an effort to ease the process of making transactions for its customers.

The CRDB Bank market expansion plan is reportedly part of the bank’s overall strategy to find additional methods of facilitating the money transfer process for Tanzanians living abroad who would like to transfer their savings back to their country.

According to CRDB Bank Manager for Small and Medium Level Customers, Ms. Nellie Ndosa, the bank’s Tanzanite account, which was introduced ten years ago, is currently the account through which Tanzanians living abroad are able to conduct their transactions through Tanzania diplomatic mission.

Ms. Ndosa went on to indicate that the Tanzanite account currently has over 5,000 customers.

The expansion of the Tanzania banking sector to other countries within the EAC is expected to ease the difficulties that Tanzanians overseas have experienced in their efforts to send money back to their home country which will, in turn, help contribute to the overall Tanzania economic growth.

The CRDB Bank was re-established on July 1, 1996 as a private commercial bank as a successor to the former Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (CRDB), a public institution with which the majority shares were held by the Tanzania Government.

Over the years, the bank has grown and developed into one of the most innovative, first choice local banks with progressive profits being recorded every year since its founding and its shareholders receiving high annual dividends.

The CRDB Bank, which posted a net profit of USD 26.65 million last year, was recently awarded a certificate of excellence for standard banking services in East Africa by SuperBrands.

Since it first began listing its shares on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2009, the shares for the CRDB Bank have become increasingly in demand, as represented by the statistics for this year’s second quarter, which indicate that they have been among the most traded at DSE and have contributed a turnover of 45 percent of overall transactions.