PBZ advances to rank of 1st tier banks

Dar es Salaam. The People’s Bank of Zanzibar Limited (PBZ) joined the first-tier group last year, thanks to growth in customer deposits.

The lender’s total assets crossed the Sh1 trillion-mark to settle on Sh1.01 trillion on December 21, 2021, a significant leap from the Sh942 billion that was recorded in September of that year.

The bank’s customer deposits rose by 8.79 percent to Sh766.75 billion in December, up from Sh704.79 billion of the preceding quarter.

PBZ’s acting head of finance, Anuar Saleh, attributed the rise in deposits to improved extension of loans, advances and overdrafts.

“With enough liquidity, the bank also increased its balance with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), as well as investments in government securities,” he said.

PBZ’s balance with the BoT stood at Sh134.85 billion at the end of last year (2021). This was a significant gain from Sh56 billion of September 2021.

The bank’s investment in government securities rose to Sh39.02 billion during the last quarter of 2021, from Sh34.8 billion in September, 2021.

PBZ now joins the group of ten lenders on the first tier list. They are: CRDB Bank Plc, NMB Bank Plc, the National Bank of Commerce, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Stanbic, Exim Bank, Diamond Trust Bank, Azania and Tanzania Commercial Bank.

Mr Saleh told The Citizen that the rise in assets was also fuelled by expansion of the lender’s network across Zanzibar and on Tanzania Mainland in 2021.

In 2021, PBZ raised its net profit to Sh18.05 billion, up from Sh13.09 billion in 2020.

“This was largely due to the aforementioned factors which also helped to raise our the interest income, putting the bank among best performing ones in the country,” he said.

Its interest income reached Sh75.57 billion in 2021, having risen from the Sh62.72 billion that was recorded in the previous year.