A local commercial bank, Exim Bank (Tanzania) is set to spread wings to the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti after a successful debut in the Indian archipelago of the Comoros.
The bank’s Managing Director, Sabetha Mwambenja, made the revelation during the bank’s branch and corporate managers’ meeting held in Dar es Salaam yesterday. According to Mwambenja, the bank now awaits the approval of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to venture into that country.Asked about the reasons why the bank was interested in Djibouti, Mwambenja remarked, “ we were approached by a partner in Djibouti, Africa Invest, and due to the fact that Djibouti is a very vibrant economy with a small and manageable market we thought it was ideal to have our subsidiary there.’’
The bank currently has 16 branches in the country and two branches in its subsidiary in the Comoros. According to Mwambenja, plans are also underway to open branches in Iringa and Babati in Arusha, as well as Ubungo and Kariakoo in Dar es Salaam before the end of the year. On the other hand, she said there was a vast potential for business between Tanzania and the Comoros through trade, noting that her bank has already recorded profit in the latter regardless of its short term presence in that market.
In the Tanzanian market, Exim Bank General Manager Dinesh Arora said the bank with 16 branches at present, has managed to scale up from position number eight to six among commercial banks operating in the country. He said the bank’s capital had hit 500 million U.S Dollars as of June this year. Arora said the bank’s branch and corporate managers’ meetings which are held on a quarterly basis are meant to give the executives an overview of the economy and the performance of the financial sector. `` These meetings also help the management review the performance of each of its branch,``
On her part, the bank’s Clock Tower Branch Manager Jacqueline Kweka said the branch and corporate meetings help the bank executives meet and set strategies to improve performance. ‘‘During the meetings we review our performance and see how we can move forward and meet our targets,’’ she said.
The Exim Bank Finance Manager, Lydia Kokugonza, said the meetings enable the bank executives enlighten the top management on the financial position of the bank and share experiences for the improvement of the bank. On his part the Mbeya branch manager, Geoffrey Kitundu, said the meetings help them face competition in the market through creating new products. The bank thus is the only local bank which has managed to spread wings outside the borders.
