Tanzania
Banking sector profile — Sub-Saharan Africa
Data as of September 2026 • TGB Intelligence Unit
Policy rate as of 7 October 2026: 6.25% (source: Bank of Tanzania)
Banking sector at a glance
Structure and performance
Tanzania's banking sector comprised 42 institutions at end-2025: 35 commercial banks, two state-owned development banks, three microfinance banks and two community banks. Commercial banks, with 950 branches, held 97.3% of sector assets. Thirteen locally owned commercial banks accounted for 68.6% of commercial bank assets and 22 foreign-owned banks for the remainder. The market is concentrated: the ten largest banks held 80.8% of assets, and the two leaders, CRDB Bank (group assets TZS 22.3tn) and NMB Bank (TZS 17.6tn), are several times larger than the next tier.
Growth was strong in 2025. Total assets rose 24.9% to TZS 77.7tn, deposits 25.9% to TZS 53.9tn and loans, advances and overdrafts 24.2% to TZS 45.5tn, implying a loan-to-deposit ratio of about 84%. Outreach continues to rely on agents: the number of bank agents grew 29.1% to 187,692, against 1,049 branches. Ownership and control changes in 2025 included the acquisition of 80% of Habib African Bank by Soren Investment Company and the upgrade of Maendeleo Bank from community to commercial bank status.
Soundness indicators are comfortable. Tier 1 and total capital adequacy ratios stood at 21.6% and 22.5% at end-2025, well above regulatory minimums, and the NPL ratio improved to 2.8% from 3.4% in 2024. Liquid assets equalled 27.4% of demand liabilities, and the liquidity coverage and net stable funding ratios were substantially above thresholds. The sector earned net profit of TZS 2,229.2bn, a return on assets of 4.6% and on equity of 20.6%, with the cost-to-income ratio improving to 47.1%.
Tanzania's removal from the FATF grey list in 2025 and the completion of the Basel II/III parallel run have strengthened the supervisory framework. Near-term risks stem from renewed inflation pressure, which prompted the Bank of Tanzania to raise its policy rate in July 2026, and from the shilling's weakening from TZS 2,447.5 per dollar at end-2025 to TZS 2,649.7 at end-July 2026. Concentration of assets and credit in a few large banks remains a structural feature.
Structural trends
The shifts shaping banking in Tanzania.
Credit expansion remains robust: banking sector loans, advances and overdrafts rose 24.2% to TZS 45.5tn in 2025, alongside 24.9% asset growth.
Agent banking is driving outreach: bank agents increased 29.1% to 187,692 in 2025, far exceeding the network of 1,049 bank branches.
Concentration is rising: the ten largest banks held 80.8% of banking assets at end-2025, up from 79.4% a year earlier.
Regulation is modernising: the Basel II/III parallel run ended in April 2025, and non-interest banking regulations and climate-risk disclosure guidelines followed during 2025.
Leading institutions
Largest banks in Tanzania by total assets.
| # | Bank | Total assets (US$) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CRDB Bank | US$9.1bn | Commercial |
| 2 | NMB Bank | US$7.2bn | Commercial |
| 3 | National Bank of Commerce (NBC) | US$2.2bn | Commercial |
| 4 | Azania Bank | US$1.5bn | Commercial |
| 5 | Stanbic Bank Tanzania | US$1.4bn | Commercial |
Total assets at 31 December 2025, audited FY2025 accounts (group where applicable), converted at TZS 2,447.5/US$
Supervision and capital rules
The Bank of Tanzania licenses and supervises banks under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act and its regulations. Basel II and III standards are being implemented; a 12-month parallel run ended on 30 April 2025 and showed capital well above minimum requirements. Deposits are protected by the Deposit Insurance Fund, administered by the Deposit Insurance Board, with a maximum coverage of TZS 7.5m per depositor; the fund grew 18.8% to TZS 1,591.3bn in 2025 and fully covered 99.2% of insurable accounts. In 2025 the Bank issued the Banking and Financial Institutions (Non-Interest Banking) Regulations and guidelines on climate-related financial risk management and sustainability disclosures, and developed a real-time supervision information system. Tanzania exited the FATF grey list during 2025.
What changed in 2026
- In April 2026 the Bank of Tanzania published a climate risk analysis of the banking sector, supporting its new climate-related risk management and disclosure guidelines.
- In May 2026 the Bank of Tanzania released its Financial Stability Report for December 2025, which reported that the Deposit Insurance Fund had grown 18.8% to TZS 1,591.3bn.
- In July 2026 the Monetary Policy Committee raised the Central Bank Rate by 50bp to 6.25% for July–September to contain emerging inflation pressures.
- In July 2026 the Bank's Banking Supervision Annual Report 2025 recorded sector net profit of TZS 2,229.2bn and an NPL ratio of 2.8%.
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