CRDB sets Sh70 billion as capital for DRC entry

Dar es Salaam. CRDB Bank Plc is entering the market of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a capital of $30 million (about Sh70 billion), it was revealed during the weekend.

The bank’s managing director said in Dar es Salaam that to begin with, the lender would inject Sh70 billion as capital for its DRC subsidiary.

“We are starting with Sh70 billion….We are also eying our entry into Zambia, Malawi, Comoro, Uganda and Kenya,” he said during the official opening of the lender’s multi-billion 11-storey headquarters in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan graced the official launch of the Sh163 billion building along Ali Hassan Road at Palm Beach area in the city at the weekend.

The bank’s DRC subsidiary will be opened in Lubumbashi, Katanga Province.

This will be CRDB Bank Plc’s second operation outside Tanzania. It currently also operates in Burundi where it has three branches.

The CRDB chairman, Dr Ally Laay told a section of journalists on sidelines of the official opening of the lender’s multi-billion 11-storey headquarters in Dar es Salaam at the weekend that initially, the entry into the DRC was to be effected in May this year.

“However, we faced some delays and decided to push the actual entry date to the third quarter of this year,” he said.

Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Governor Florens Luoga said various countries had expressed interest in opening doors for Tanzanian banks to open branches there.

“We must take this opportunity to provide services abroad. This will help Tanzanian banks to set an example in East and Southern Africa in service delivery,” Prof Luoga said.

The board of directors for CRDB Bank Plc approved the lender’s entry into the DRC about four years ago.

During CRDB Bank Plc’s annual general meeting in May last year, Dr Laay told participants that the DRC entry had already received the approval of the BoT.