CRDB Bank lands $300M syndicated loan, its largest since 2022
What's the deal? CRDB Bank, Tanzania's largest banking group, has secured a $300 million syndicated term loan, the biggest refinancing of its international loan programme since the programme launched in 2022. Intesa SanpaoloDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and InvestecDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → served as coordinators and bookrunners.
Why the size stands out: The $300 million facility ranks in the 93rd percentile among all-time debt deals for Tanzanian fintech, based on 407 comparable rounds. Demand outpaced the target: commitments hit roughly $744 million, nearly five times the original $150 million goal.
What's new this year? The 2026 facility adds a three-year tranche to the existing one- and two-year structure, extending CRDB's maturity profile and diversifying its funding base. The syndication drew 34 institutions across Europe, the UK, the Gulf region, and Africa, spanning commercial banks and development finance institutions.
Where the money goes: Proceeds will support CRDB's general corporate funding and liquidity management. The bank holds about 29% market share in both assets and deposits in Tanzania and has expanded into Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, plus a representative office in Dubai.
What they said: "The significant oversubscription shows the depth of liquidity currently available for leading African financial institutions," said Marc Köhne, head of Africa leveraged finance at Investec. It marks the fifth consecutive year Intesa Sanpaolo and Investec have arranged the bank's annual syndication.
The signal: The scale of the oversubscription points to rising international appetite for well-capitalised African banks. As Gustaaf Eerenstein, syndication director at Intesa Sanpaolo, put it, the deal underscores "the growing interest among international lenders in Africa's banking sector."
Read more: tanzaniatimes.net
Image credit: D-Stanley
