CRDB BULLISH ON GROWTH DESPITE CHALLENGES

CRDB Bank Managing Director, Dr. Charles Kimei (centre), speaks at a press conference in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday ahead of the 22nd Annual Stakeholder's General Meeting scheduled to take place later this week in Arusha. He is flanked by Deputy Managing Director, Operations & Customer Services, Mr. Saugata Bandyopadhyay (first right) and Deputy Managing Director, Shared Services, Ms. Esther Kitoka (first left).

CRDB Bank remains optimistic of posting strong results this year despite policy changes that increased challenges in operations, its Managing Director, Dr. Charles Kimei has said.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday ahead of the bank's Annual General Meeting scheduled for later this week, Dr. Kimei said the ongoing policy orientation, including macroeconomic and structural policies, as well as changes in regulatory framework were likely to result in increasing loan repayment default rate among borrowers.

The bank, with a subsidiary in Burundi, reported a Group pretax profit slow down to 118.2bn/- from 187.7bn/- attained in the previous year. The Tanzania operation alone posted a pre-tax profit of 111.9bn/- compared to 178.2bn/- recorded last year.

“It is against this context that we will exercise a cautious approach in implementing the bank’s strategy for 2017,” Dr. Kimei said.

The Bank will focus on consolidation and effective cost management—implying taking a low gear in network expansion and improving asset utilization to generate quality income and improve returns to shareholders.

The bank would also continue to focus on risk and regulatory compliance to optimize the business and improve beyond financial performance, he said.

“The challenges faced in 2016 are not expected to ease in 2017; however, most of the required adjustments to cope with new macroeconomic conditions have been made.

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