People’s Bank of Zanzibar profit rises to Sh16bn

Zanzibar. The People’s Bank of Zanzibar (PBZ) has recorded a 22.7-per cent increase in profit after tax deduction during the third quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

Speaking during a press conference yesterday, PBZ managing director Juma Hafidh said the bank’s profit jumped to Sh15.7 billion from the previous year’s Sh12.8 billion.

“A 22-per cent increase in profit is commendable indeed, thanks to a well done job by our branches in Mainland Tanzania and the Isles, with each accounting for Sh8.6 billion and Sh6.1 billion of the profit respectively,” noted Mr Hafidh.

“The third quarter was good period for us…we are happy that we surpassed our profit target of Sh13.7 billion.”

The performance is attributed to an 8-per cent increase in customers to 186,211 this year during the third quarter, well above from 171,852 recorded last December.

He said the rise in the number of customers leveraged on the 13 per cent increase in customer deposits to 479.9 billion during the end of September, up from Sh423.4 billion posted during the same period last year.

“An increase in deposit habit among customers, loan services, money transfers to other countries via the Western Union, bill payment services in our branches, just to mention a few, contributed significantly to the profit,” the bank’s boss told reporters.

The bank, according to him, sent high the amount of loans to its customers by 5 per cent to Sh332.6 billion in 2007, well above the previous year’s Sh316.5 billion

Despite the great strides that the bank has recorded during the period under reference, it faces some challenges, which impede posting of even greater achievements.

They include instability of mobile money services and reluctance of some government institutions to use the bank in tax collection, among other things.

The bank revealed its plans to address the challenges, including provision of education to government institutions and rural dwellers and setting of ATM machines in various areas in rural and urban areas.

Others are the establishment of agent services and issuing of ATM cards to customers immediately after joining the bank.