There are a number of -Exim Banks in the world which makes it hard to distinguish which is which.
For starters, Tanzania has officially opened its newest branch in Dar es Salaam’s Mkwepu Street following the bank’s successful acquisition of UBL Bank.
UBL is a subsidiary of Pakistan’s UBL Bank and the acquisition comes as Exim Bank plans to spread and expand nationwide.
Consolidation Tanzania’s banking sector
With the acquisition, Exim Bank becomes the first private sector bank to embark in the consolidation of the banking sector in the country.
Post-acquisition Exim Bank becomes one of the top 5 banks in the country with an asset base of TSh1.7 trillion (USD 738 million).
“We are delighted by the diverse base of customers that will be joining Exim bank family and we assure the customers that we are thrilled to have you on board, and we commit to ensure that you continue to enjoy innovative solutions from us. Customers being the most important part of our business, we pledge to work tirelessly to ensure our quality services brings you utmost satisfaction and enjoy seamless banking,’’ said Jaffari Matundu, Exim Bank’s Chief Executive Officer.
Bank of Tanzania has also reiterated on several occasions consolidation of the banking sector in the country. This is important for the financial health of the economy and to provide comprehensive product and services to customers.
President Pombe Joseph Magufuli has always stressed on having bigger and a smaller number of banks in the country.
Matundu added, “Tanzania has more banks compared to other larger economies like South Africa and Nigeria. The banking industry has been witnessing consolidation which will gradually leave well-capitalized players that will be able to catalyse economic growth. The consolidation also improves resilience to capital shocks and lowers compliance and technology costs.”
Innovative technology and design
He said that Dar es Salaam is an important market for Exim Bank and the newly opened Mkwepu branch embraces innovative technology and design to enable the bank’s customers to interact with the bank officials.
“A dynamic mix of private and public banks evenly spread out across the entire country will ensure that there is a wholesome credit flow. Entrepreneurs will have enough access to capital needed to expand their businesses, which in turn will lead to a faster pace of job creation and a reduction in the unemployment rate,” he added.
The new expansion will increase the presence of Exim Bank to a total of 33 branches across the country.
Exim bank has subsidiaries in Djibouti, Comoros and Uganda.
It is the first indigenous Tanzanian bank to have a footprint outside the country. The bank was founded in 1997 with its headquarters in Dar es Salaam. As of 2017, the bank had 927 employees.
Exim Bank of China
The Exim Bank Tanzania is not to be confused with the Exim Bank of China.
China’s Exim Bank is a state-funded and state-owned policy bank with the status of an independent legal entity.
A statement on its website says that “It is a bank directly under the leadership of the State Council and dedicated to supporting China’s foreign trade, investment and international economic cooperation.
With the Chinese government’s credit support, the bank plays a crucial role in promoting steady economic growth and structural adjustment, supporting foreign trade, and implementing the “going global” strategy.
It is committed to reinforcing financial support to key sectors and weak links in the Chinese economy to ensure sustainable and healthy economic and social development.
In China, the Bank has 32 branches on the mainland and one representative office in Hong Kong.
Overseas, it has the Paris Branch, Representative Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, St. Petersburg Representative Office, Representative Office for Northern and Western Africa.”
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
Tanzania’s Exim Bank is also not to be confused with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) which is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993 under the auspices of the African Development Bank.
It is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt and its vision is to be the trade finance bank for Africa.
Afreximbank is a financial institution geared towards promoting intra- as well as extra-African trade to help economies progress.
It set up shop in Uganda establishing its US$29 million branch to help potential businesses make an economic impact.
This launch in Uganda came after Kenya missed out on the opportunity to become its headquarters in East Africa following sluggish deliberations in 2018.
Afreximbank launched the Ugandan subsidiary as it was celebrating 25 years of operations.
The bank has served other parts of Africa with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria and Cairo Egypt.
Its branch in Abidjan, Ivory Coast was opened around the same period they would have opened their East African branch in Kenya.
Its presence in the diverse economies has been recording great performances with their vast array of services.
