THE Bank of Tanzania’s (BoT) governor Emmanuel Tutuba (pictured) has hailed the importance of capital markets in stimulating economic development in realizing the successful digital economy.

He made the remarks on Friday in Dar es Salaam when he graced the closing of DCB Commercial Bank Plc right issue share sale at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) which was opened in November last year.

Tutuba said capital markets accelerate businesses to expand, develop innovations, and contribute to job creation.

The listing of the bank’s right issue shares has been successful and received a great response from shareholders and shows the confidence that investors have in the bank and its journey of transformation.

"The bank has successfully increased its capital from 15bn/- to 25.7bn/-. The financial sector has made great strides in development over the years, and the bank has been an important part of this journey;

“Since it was established in 2002, the bank has shown a strong commitment to creativity and quality," said Tutuba.

He explained that the bank has long been recognized for empowering low-income communities to access capital through affordable loans to bridge the gap between people who are not served by the formal banking system.

"I am interested in the initiatives that the bank has taken in line with national development priorities, including empowering women entrepreneurs, market traders, and special groups through innovative credit products," he said.

He said initiatives like these contribute significantly to reducing poverty and enabling communities to achieve the goals that are part of the nation's economic agenda.

"Your growth journey reflects your strong commitment to create opportunities for individuals, small businesses, and organizations to access financial services, thus improving lives and contributing to the prosperity of the national economy," said Tutuba.

Sabasaba Moshingi, DCB Chief Executive Officer said that listing of the right issue was part of the bank’s five-year strategic plan 2024 - 2028 aimed at raising the bank's capital base.

He said in 2023 the bank recorded a loss of 4.6bn/- before tax. Through the good leadership of the bank's board and management and employees, the bank has been able to come out of losses and earn a profit before tax of 317mn/- in 2024.

“The loans we issued have grown from 128mn/- in the first quarter to 131mn/- in the fourth quarter. Customer deposits have increased from 154bn/- in the first quarter. Reducing NPLs from 6.9bn/- in the first quarter to 4.7bn/- in the fourth quarter of the year,” said Moshingi.

For his part, DCB Board of Directors Chairperson Zawadia Nanyaro said that in order for the financial sector to stand firm, capital development is an important thing where the bank listed the right issues on November 11, 2024, with the objectives of increasing the capital by 10.74bn/- .

"The sale of rights issues was officially closed on December 6, 2024 and it has been of great success and met the goals by 100 percent, thus fulfilling the bank's ambition to increase the capital from the 15bn/- we had to 25.7bn/-," said Nanyaro.

Nanyaro said that the results after the sale of rights issues are going to bring economic productivity to shareholders and Tanzanians in general.

After raising capital, the bank aims to grow businesses and provide SMEs with capital to grow their businesses.