Tanzania’s top two banks, NMB and CRDB, increased their investments in government securities last year.
NMB, one of the banks, which invested in Treasury bonds, climbed from Tsh1.3 trillion ($562.77 million) in 2020 to Tsh1.74 trillion ($753.24 million) in 2021, according to audited financial results released this week.
CRDB purchased T-bonds of Tsh1.64 trillion ($709.95 million), up from Tsh1.49 trillion ($645.02 million) in 2020.
In 2021, NMB customer loans climbed by 13% year over year to Tsh4.65 trillion ($2.01 billion), with a non-performing loans ratio of 4%. Customer loans increased by 28.3% to Tsh5.04 trillion ($2.18 billion), while non-performing loans fell from 4.4 percent to 3.3 percent.
Overall, CRDB’s profit before tax increased by 64% year over year to Tsh387.36 billion ($167.68 million) to the end of December 2021, compared to Tsh236.17 billion ($102.23 million) in 2020.
From Tsh295.74 billion ($128.02 million) the previous year, NMB’s gross profit increased by 40% to Tsh413.88 billion ($179.16 million).
Meanwhile, Tanzania and the United States have inked seven agreements for commercial initiatives that are expected to be executed in Tanzania by American investors and firms.
The $5.04 billion initiatives with significant private sector enterprises are expected to result in the creation of almost 301,110 jobs in agriculture, tourism, commerce, and other areas of the economy.