Braving a killer virus to serve our customers

To improve access to finance for large- and small-scale farmers, we made further steps by signing MOUs with Loan Agro, ETC & Agricom to support agricultural financing.

The renewed sales efforts resulted in the record performance achieved in 2020. Retail deposits grew 3% to a total of TZS 3.19 trillion as of Dec 2020, up from TZS 3.097 trillion as of December 2019. On the other hand, the Retail loan book grew by 19% YoY, from TZS 2.19 trillion in Dec 2019 to TZS 2.60 in December 2020. Significant growth was recorded for most retail lines, MSE loans grew 129 % from TZS 33.5 billion in 2019 to TZS 75.9 billion in 2020 while Personal loans grew notably at 24%, from TZS 1.44 trillion in 2019 to TZS 1.78 trillion in 2020. Mortgage loans grew at 19%, from TZS 41.9 billion in 2019 to TZS 49.9 billion in 2020.

The SME book grew by a modest 2%, from TZS 473.3 billion in 2019 to TZS 481.3 billion in 2020, however, we experienced significant development of the SME off-balance sheet portfolio, which was recorded at TZS 60.3 billion as of December 2020.

In addition to growing the retail loan portfolio, we were able to significantly improve our portfolio quality. As of 31 December 2020, retail banking’s NPL stood at 3.0%, down from 3.5% recorded in December 2019. This reduction of NPL has been a result of improvements in proactive portfolio monitoring, which has resulted from the operationalization of portfolio monitoring functions for both business and consumer loans.

The Bank’s alternative channels continue to demonstrate impressive growth, which is attributed to our continuous improvement of the services and continued education to our customers on usage.

To boost digital channel usage, we implemented various initiatives such as Chagua Tembocard Visa and Chanja, Lipa, Sepa promotions which have enabled the Group to increase card transaction volumes and value as well as to raise awareness of the fast-growing card market in Tanzania.

Over the year, we also maintained good performance for other alternative banking channels. We recorded 29.8 million Simbanking transactions and 1.79 million internet banking transactions in 2020.

To improve engagement with CRDB Wakala, the Group conducted nationwide Wakala forums to train agents on various aspects of the business and in turn promote sales & compliance. Following the implementation of the forums, we have observed a notable improvement in agent transactions and overall adherence to rules and regulations.

Agents Activity & Transactions Trend March 2019 – December 2020

Our performance in 2020 has enabled us to set a good foundation to achieve more in 2021. We will continue to adhere to best practices to improve how our customers experience CRDB’s products and services. As we expand outreach to more diverse customers, our priority will remain at ensuring that our products and services are affordable and accessible to many and that we maintain the quality of our existing and new portfolio.