The Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Philip Mpango, has commended the efforts of all financial institutions in the country in withstanding various risks and making the sector resilient and adaptable to the prevailing environment through innovation.
He made these remarks while opening the 21st Conference of Financial Institutions held at the Arusha International Conference Centre on March 7, 2024, with the theme "Strengthening Financial Sector Resilience in Challenging Economic Times.”
"Indeed, you have contributed greatly to government efforts in promoting economic growth and development," Dr. Mpango told 400 participants including CEOs of financial institutions, mobile network operators, social security funds and insurance firms.
Furthermore, the Vice President urged payment service providers to continue innovating to come up with goods and services that meet the evolving needs of the people.
He noted a significant increase in the use of digital payments, especially in the banking, insurance, social security funds, and other sectors.
"These changes necessitate a shift from the use of cash to electronic payment methods to reduce the risks associated with using cash and increase the convenience of making payments," he said.
Also, Dr. Mpango commended the Bank of Tanzania and all institutions involved in the development of the Tanzania Instant Payments System (TIPS).
"I expect that the TIPS system will help promote formal financial services and reduce transaction costs," said the Vice President before officially launching the TIPS system.
He also praised the central bank for adopting a new interest rate-based monetary policy implementation system, expressing hope that it would enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy in the current economic environment and signal the interest rates on loans provided by financial institutions to stimulate investment and economic growth.
Earlier, the Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, Emmanuel Tutuba, explained that, in addition to the main theme, participants in the conference will have the opportunity to discuss issues related to the efficiency and resilience of financial institutions during disasters and the resilience of the financial sector in dealing with economic challenges: the role of various laws, innovation, and risk management.
"The technological innovation provides opportunities for financial institutions to improve the delivery of financial services and how to address various challenges that may arise," Governor Tutuba stated.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Hon. Hamad Chande, said that Tanzania's financial sector has shown resilience against recent global economic challenges.
"The stability of the banking sector has been aided by the availability of capital and liquidity above the minimum regulatory requirements," he said.
Since May 1980, the Bank of Tanzania has been organizing regular meetings of financial institutions to discuss various topical issues, to ensure that the country's financial sector adopts various strategies to remain stable and capable of growing despite challenges at national, regional and global levels.