Bank of Tanzania
Banknotes: January to March 2024
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Four African central banks take policy decisions
Morocco and BEAC increase rates and Tanzania reduces liquidity while Angola cuts policy rate
East African states clash over location of regional central bank
‘Verification exercise’ gave Tanzania the highest score, prompting Uganda and Kenya to object
Tanzania’s current account deficit more than doubles YoY
Deficit reached $3.7 billion in May, as country turns to IMF for support
Central bank social media trends in the ‘Instagram age’
Uptake of visual social media platforms rises, as Facebook usage plateaus
The matter of minutes: Why open up private deliberations?
Many central banks publish records of MPC meetings, but far fewer publish vote tallies. Where should public scrutiny stop?
Bank of Tanzania ‘working on CBDC’, governor says
Luoga says “cryptocurrencies are not safe” and president has urged work on CBDC
Tanzanian central bank announces loan crackdown
Central bank says “unscrupulous borrowers and employees” partly responsible for high NPL levels
People: Former Bank of Tanzania governor dies
Fed appoints chief innovation officer; World Bank names new head of International Finance Corporation; and more
Tanzanian central bank fines lenders over in-country data centres
Move comes as doubts grow over quality of banking sector and official statistics
Bank of Tanzania removes CEO of state-owned TIB Bank
The IMF has flagged the high levels of non-performing loans in the banking sector
Bank of Tanzania must remain ‘vigilant’ during framework transition
Central bank will need to be careful as it transitions to new monetary policy framework, IMF warns, given expected recovery in spending
Tanzania revokes licence of five banks
Rising NPLs and insufficient capital ratios in small banks source of concern, IMF says
IMF concerned about Tanzanian NPL levels
Addressing financial sector vulnerabilities should be a “priority”, as high NPL levels start to restrict lending to the private sector
Florens Luoga named new Bank of Tanzania governor
Tax lawyer and academic picked to head the central bank as Benno Ndulu completes second term
Bank of Tanzania revokes FBME Bank’s licence after US ruling
The bank was deemed a money-laundering risk in 2014, after a US report highlighted concerns; the Bank of Tanzania revokes its licence following the commercial bank’s removal from the US financial system
Tanzanian central bank slashes discount rate
Central bank cuts discount rate for the first time since 2013, from 16% to 12%; increase in NPLs has discouraged commercial banks from lending
Tanzania launches financial education plan
More than 27% of people remain excluded from financial services in Tanzania; improved financial numeracy and risk management among issues to be addressed
Tanzania hits financial inclusion target early due to mobile surge
Benno Ndulu says the number of adults with access to financial services has doubled in five years; describes mobile phones as ‘critical link’ between the unbanked and the formal system
Bank of Tanzania praised for ‘skilfully’ lowering inflation
The IMF praises Tanzania authorities for generating ‘rapid’ growth while clamping down on inflation and encouraging development of sovereign wealth fund
Bank of Tanzania launches financial inclusion framework
East African country is aiming for 50% formal financial inclusion by 2016, up from 22% today; strategy will tackle supply side, demand side and structural obstacles