CRDB BANK PUTS PRIVATE SECTOR AT ITS HEART

The CRDB Bank Limited is increasingly lending its resources to the country`s growing private sector, apparently shifting from the tradition of massive investment in government papers.

This trend is easily visible from the Bank`s audited financial statement for the March-June period published last week in conformity with Bank of Tanzania (BoT) disclosure rules.

The reduction of investment in the government securities by the Bank has come in the wake of government`s announcement of its plans to reduce internal borrowing through floatation of Treasury Bills and Bonds.

The referred latest financial records indicates in the past three months, the Bank reduced its investment in the Treasury Bills by 4.28bn/-.

In March this year, the CRDB Bank Ltd invested 195bn/- in the government securities, the amount which declined to 190.7bbn/- by June this year.

The reduction of the bank`s investment in the T-Bills was simultaneously accompanied by an impressive turn around in the issuance of loans and overdraft to various private sector undertakings of the national economy.

Released data show lending for the period surged up to surged up to 60.4bn/-, as 450.5bn/- was lent out to enterprises, up from 390.1bn/ committed in March this year.

Incidentally, while the Bank had opted to firmly cuddle private sector operators, deposits were also bulging in its treasuries, as customers entrusted the Bank to hold their deposits that amounted to 10.4bn/-.

It is shown that customers? deposits in March stood at 837.8bn/-, but when books were being closed in June, the Bank has accumulated deposits worth 848.3bn/-.

The impressive performance registered in the Bank`s different trading aspects has also manifested themselves in its rising profit margins, which more than doubled by the end of June.

The statement reads that the Bank the profit in March was 8.7bn/-, but had jumped up to 18.2bn/- at the end of June.

The Bank also employed more staff in different ranks as well as easing lending conditions to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) seeking working capital.

The Bank has already offered special training to 719 SMEs out of which 659 received loans amounting to 12.6bn/-.

SOURCE: Guardian