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| Ajmair Riaz, Country Head of Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania. |
In a statement issued by the Bank, Mr. Ajmair Riaz, the Bank’s Country Head of Retail Banking, said that his team has been working very closely with the Bank’s clients in the Individual and Business segments to understand the financial challenges that they are facing during this unprecedented time.
“During this unprecedented period, we understand the challenges that prevail including from a financial aspect. In this regard, we have been reaching out to our clients to discuss how the pandemic is affecting them and the various challenges that they are facing.
We have, therefore, based on discussions with our various clients, decided to take proactive actions to introduce relief measures that will ease the financial burden for our Individual and Business Clients whose income and cash flows have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Mr. Riaz said.
Mr. Riaz added that his Bank has looked into a number of options for supporting its clients and had narrowed down to two effective measures which comprise of either a payment holiday or tenor extension for loan repayments.
He highlighted that these options are open to Individual clients who have Personal Loans or Mortgages with the Bank, as well as Business Clients, mainly in the SME sector, who have taken loans from the Bank. He also added that the relief measures which will be granted to the Bank’s clients, will be based on a criteria that will consider financial impact arising from cases such as unpaid leave, salary reduction, job loss, infected customers, loss of business and other reasons that the Bank may find reasonable during this unprecedented time.
Speaking about the specific options of the relief measures Mr. Riaz explained that clients who opt for the option of a payment holiday will get a three-month moratorium, and the option of the extension of the Loan Tenure entails a twelve-month additional period to make repayments, resulting into smaller repayment instalments that the Bank’s clients can bear.
“Our Clients continue to be the reason why we are in business, and why we are ‘Here for good’ as per our Brand Promise. We are also committed to enhancing prosperity for our clients. As we go through this unprecedented period, we remain committed to supporting them to come out of it with minimal impact, if any, on their financial status. We, therefore, believe that the options of a three-month moratorium, and a twelve-month extension on the loan repayments tenure will go a long way in minimizing the financial impact to our clients, and we will discuss these options with them accordingly as and when we receive their requests.” Mr. Riaz added.
As the country continues to combat the spread of the pandemic, Mr. Riaz urged the Bank’s clients to further leverage on the Bank’s Digital capabilities. He highlighted that the Bank’s Full Digital Bank on Mobile offers more than seventy banking services thus enabling users to carry out all their transactions without needing to come to any of the Bank’s branches.
“As we go through this period, the health of our clients is our priority. In this regard, we continue to advocate for, and drive branchless and cashless banking. With our Full Digital Bank on Mobile our clients need not visit any of our branches. They can make their utility payments, move money from their accounts to their mobile phone accounts, and vice versa, they can carry out foreign currency transactions as well as manage their Debit Cards, from activating to deactivating them. All these can be done from the safety of our clients’ premises.” Mr. Riaz said.
Touching on the Bank’s SME clients, Mr. Riaz said that the Bank’s enhanced Straight2Bank Digital Platform enables business owners to fully carry out their financial obligations including payment of salaries, Tax payments as well as payment to vendors, among other obligations, at the safety of their premises.
“I’d like to remind our clients to continue using our Digital Banking capabilities to reduce physical interaction at branches and decrease the handling of cash. We should also continue to follow the Government’s and Medical Experts’ precautionary measures. I believe that we will make it through when we stay diligent, keep our hope towards the future, and foster cooperation. We continue to be committed to doing the best we can for our clients in these unprecedented times.” Mr. Riaz concluded.
For more information or interview opportunities, please contact:
Juanita Mramba
Corporate Affairs and Brand Marketing
+255 767 393 992
juanita.mramba@sc.com
Standard Chartered
We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in more than 60 of the world’s most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.
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Standard Chartered Tanzania
Standard Chartered Tanzania Limited first opened its doors to the public in Tanzania in 1917 and, following a period of nationalisation, re-opened again in 1993 as the first foreign bank to obtain a licence under the economic reform programme. We now have four branches - in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha.
Our Head Office is located at International House Property, Corner Shaaban Robert / Garden Avenue, Dar es Salaam.
The Bank aims to offer its customers innovative products and excellent service, which compete with the best in the world. Independent market surveys have shown Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania to have the best service, and to be the most innovative bank in Tanzania.
In May 2014, Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania won an award for the Best Internet Bank in Tanzania for its excellent online banking platform. In November, 2015, Standard Chartered Tanzania was awarded the prestigious ‘Bank of the Year’ award at The Banker Awards 2015. That was the eighth time that the Bank was winning the award, thus being a testimony of our commitment to serve our clients in Tanzania consistently over so many years.
In May 2016, Standard Chartered Tanzania was awarded the prestigious ‘Best in Customer Service’ award by The Banker, Africa.
In 2018, the Bank won the 2018 Bank of the Year Award by the Banker, Financial Times, for the ninth time. Regarded as ‘The Oscars of the Banking Industry’, the Banker Award is handed out to only one bank in every participating country.
Last year the Bank was awarded the Best Custodian of the Year Award by the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and also won the “Employer Brand” Award by the Association of Tanzania Employers, ATE, that recognizes organisations’ distinctive positioning and attractive employer brands.
The Bank is enthusiastic about the country and is committed to supporting economic growth through its various banking products and services as well as its corporate social responsibility agenda.
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