The Bank of Mozambique (BdM) revealed that more than 40 percent of the credit granted by the Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI) and Ecobank was in default at the end of September last year, highlighting that most national banking institutions recorded ratios above the recommended 5 percent during the same period.
In its report on Prudential and Economic-Financial Indicators, the central bank explained that BNI (which is among the institutions with fewer than 1,000 clients) closed the third quarter with a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 41.09 percent, down from 52.4 percent in the first quarter.
Ecobank recorded an NPL ratio of 43.78 percent, followed by Moza Banco with 23.69 percent and Access Bank with 17.92 percent.
From the list published by the central bank—based on data provided by the financial institutions themselves—only the United Bank for Africa (UBA), First National Bank (FNB), Standard Bank, and First Capital Bank (FCB) recorded NPL ratios below the recommended 5 percent, with 1.74 percent, 2.30 percent, 3.50 percent, and 4.06 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Millennium bim, one of the country’s largest banks and led by BCP of Portugal, saw its NPL ratio reach 5.27 percent, while the Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), led by Caixa Geral de Depósitos, recorded 9.97 percent.
At the end of 2024, BdM Governor Rogério Zandamela stated that the national banking sector remained “solid and well-capitalized”, but warned that non-performing loan levels remained high.
“The NPL ratio continues to be at relatively high levels,” he noted, adding that in September last year, it stood at 9.1 percent of total loans, compared to 9.3 percent in the same month of the previous year.
