CRDB records 111 percent profit growth of Sh90 billion

Dar es Salaam. CRDB Bank Plc registered a record Sh90 billion profit after tax during the first quarter of the current calendar year, thanks to its impressive growth in both interest and non-interest income streams.

This is a 111 percent growth compared to a similar period last year, the bank said yesterday.

Announcing the bank’s financial results in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the CRDB Bank’s chief executive officer, Mr Abdulmajid Nsekela said interest income grew by 16 percent year on year due to a growth in lending, particularly retail loan book.

The non interest income grew by 80 percent, thanks to the lender’s concerted efforts in driving usage of alternative channels.

Mr Nsekelsa said the bank has also undertaken a customer onboarding drive and dormant accounts reactivations which was complemented by revamping of service offerings to meet segment specific customer needs that has seen positive tidings in non-funded products.

An analysis of the financial statements, which are published in newspapers today (Friday), shows that CRDB Bank’s assets rose by seven percent to reach Sh9.4 trillion during the first quarter of 2022.

“This was fuelled by strong growth in consumer lending that grew by 10 percent which was contributed by the bank’s strategic action to lower interest rates on agriculture loans from 24 percent to nine percent and consumer loans from 16 percent to 13 percent effectively from January 2022,” said Mr Nsekela.

The level of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) remained at 3.3 percent while customer deposits grew by two percent to reach Sh6.6 trillion.

“We are off to a strong start in 2022 with impressive earnings for the first quarter; these exceptional results highlight our Bank’s unparalleled and coordinated effort to assist customers to achieve their financial goals through our innovative products and services,” said Mr Nsekela, revealing that the bank’s basic earnings per share for the first quarter of 2022 improved to Sh35 from Sh16.4 during the first quarter of 2021.

CRDB Bank plc also registered impressive financial results in parameters of return on equity and return on assets among others.

“The performance is balanced across all key indicators, demonstrating that the strategies we are implementing are moving the Group in the right direction,” Mr Nsekela said.