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| Dr. Charles Kimei. |
Dr Kimei said the monetary union will harmonise bank regulations and in that way cut costs and time for banks in the bloc in opening branches in the region. “We (CRDB) have a plan to cross more borders.
But of late we have been hesitating as there is a plan to create monetary union for EAC,” Dr Kimei told the ‘Daily News’ in special interview.
Dr Kimei, who is also the chairperson of Tanzania Bankers’ Association, said once the monetary union is created it will be easier to open a branch anywhere in the EAC member states because they will harmonise banking regulations in the region.
“This will help us in doing business. If I want to cross to Kenya, for example, I just open a branch like I open in Tanzania, because it will be supervised by Central Bank of Kenya like what our central bank does,” Dr Kimei said.
The monetary union would also apply to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and even South Sudan. CRDB currently has a subsidiary in Burundi with three branches. In the run-up to achieving a common currency, the EAC nations aim to harmonize monetary and fiscal policies and establish a common central bank.
At the moment Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda are presenting their budgets simultaneously every June. In late 2013 the EAC countries signed a joint protocol setting out the process and convergence criteria for the monetary union.
The union envisaged in 2024 is the introduction of a common currency to replace the national currencies of member countries.
Out of EAC, CRDB Bank eyes to expand to Lubumbashi in DR Congo to tap the growing potential in the area. “There are a lot of businesses in Congo and our approach is to follow our customers and we have them already in Lubumbashi,” Dr Kimei said.
The bank estimates that some 1,500 Tanzanians are doing various businesses in Lubumbashi, including government institutions such as Tanzania Port Authority.
Daily News
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