DCB COMMERCIAL BANK SHAREHOLDERS TO GET TSHS 500 MILLION IN DIVIDENDS

DCB Commercial Bank Plc outgoing Board Chairman, Prof. Lucian Msambichaka (second right), addresses the bank’s shareholders during an online the 18th DCB Annual General Meeting in Dar es Salaam over the weekend. On his right are; The bank's Legal Advisor, Alex Mgongolwa, DCB Legal and Company Secretary, Regina Mduma, DCB Managing Director, Godfrey Ndalahwa and the bank’s Board Member, Zawadia Nanyaro.

Shareholders of DCB Commercial Bank Plc have every reason to be confident with their bank after the bank's board of directors announced a dividend of 5.40/- per share during the DCB 18th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.

Announcing the dividend which was earlier approved by the banks shareholders via the online meeting, the outgoing DCB Board Chairman. Prof. Lucian Msambichaka said the dividend was based on a net profit of 2.038 billion/- after taxation as of December 31, 2019 with about 500 million/- being used to pay the dividends.

He further stated that the board had decided to pay the dividends despite the benefits they received based on a variety of factors including the prevailing commercial situation in the country which was largely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Another important factor that contributed to providing these dividends is to use the profits to enable the bank to continue to capitalize and continue to work effectively with vivid profit.” Said Msambichaka.

"The success of the DCB is largely attributed to the significant contribution from our bank shareholders because until 2018 when our bank made a profit of 995million/-, our shareholders were determined to use the profit to consolidate capital rather than sharing the profit," he added.

Addressing the shareholders, DCB Managing Director Godfrey Ndalahwa said the bank has continued to improve capital while confidently fulfilling all resolutions reached at last year's shareholders meeting.

He said one of the resolutions of the general meeting was for the bank to expand its base and have agents in Dar es Salaam and in the regions while another resolution was to cut down non-performing loans.

"We have taken up all that and now we have agents across the country and five small service centers and eight branches while doing well in cutting down non-performing loans by taking a number of measures including strengthening the defaulted loans collection unit and managing debt collection agencies and putting in place good credit practices” he said.

He said from the initiatives the bank have reduced NPLs by 19 per cent in 2018 to 14 per cent in 2019 and have also reduced the loans imbalance from payable loans to NPLs from 2.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent in 2019 and continue to ensure that repayments are guaranteed to be repaid.

Commenting on the financial performance, DCB's Acting Director of Finance, Ester Bgoya said one of the factors contributing to the bank's success was the reduction in last year's operating costs from 17billion/- to 15.8billion/- due to controlling of unnecessary expenditure and operations through technology.

"Although we have had a credit increase in 2019 interest rates earnings declined from 15.7 billion/- to 12.5billion/- due to the decline in loan interest rates as bank’s targets to reduce rates and provide cheaper loans," said ms. Ester.