Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Members of the CRDB Bank’s management team yesterday met with the Denmark Ambassador in Tanzania, Mette Nørgaard Dissing-Spandet, being just days after the lender announced a record net profit of Sh353 billion in the year 2022.
The amount rose from Sh268 billion in 2021. CRDB Bank Plc said in a statement yesterday that during the meeting, Ambassador Dissing-Spandet exuded confidence in CRDB Bank’s growth path.
This follows the recent announcement that Tanzania banks in general are raking in historically massive profits. Commercial bank net profits in Tanzania rose by about Sh400 billion last year to surpass the Sh1 trillion-mark for the first time in Tanzania banking history.
Speaking to CRDB Bank’s management team, Ambassador Dissing-Spandet said he was happy with CRDB Bank’s 2022 financial results. He said it was an indication that there would be more exciting outcomes in the future, the statement reads.
The relationship between CRDB Bank and the Danish Government dates back to the days when the lender was still known as Cooperative and Rural Development Bank.
During that time, CRDB Bank, which was at that time fully government-owned, experienced operational challenges that compelled the government to seek Denmark’s intervention through its Danish International Development Agency (Danida).
The Danida, through its Danish Investment Fund (DIF) initially took 247,014 shares of CRDB Bank in the year 2002 but its stake has since reached 548,067,648 shares which is equivalent to 21 percent of the lender’s total number of shares.
With the bank’s profitable trend during the past years, the dividend to DIF and the government of Tanzania has also been going up, reaching Sh19.7 billion in 2021, from only Sh247 million in 2002.
According to the CRDB Bank’s managing director, Mr Abdulmajid Nsekela, the rise in the bank’s profit last year was primarily driven by a 13 per cent increase in non-funded income that grew to Sh400 billion from Sh354 billion in the preceding year.
He said the bank has been pushing digital channels for banking throughout the pandemic and post-pandemic, and that has contributed to the growth of the business.
“This cooperation between Danida, government and CRDB Bank Plc has been important in boosting the lender’s business performance each year,” CRDB Bank said in its yesterday’s statement.
It was building on the background of years of cooperation that the Government of Denmark, through its Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), was also partnering with CRDB Bank’s subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Denmark is also one of the top development partners who support the delivery of quality health services in Tanzania.
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
