Mozambique: Some banks with NPL above the recommended ratio up to March

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Mozambique: Some banks with NPL above the recommended ratio up to March

12:03 CAT | 05 May 2025

File photo: Banco de Moçambique

Almost half of the loans granted by the Mozambican bank Ecobank were in default at the end of the first quarter, but most of the country’s banking institutions maintained non-performing loan (NPL) ratios above the 5% stipulated by the central bank.

According to the Bank of Mozambique’s Prudential and Economic-Financial Indicators report for January to March, Ecobank closed the quarter with a non-performing loan ratio of 48.17%, compared to 42.66% at the end of 2024.

Next comes Moza Banco, with a ratio of 36.58% (34.24% in the fourth quarter of 2024), and Access Bank, with a ratio of 20.69% (21.04% in the previous quarter).

From the list published in the central bank’s report, based on data provided by the financial institutions themselves, United Bank for Africa (UBA), First National Bank (FNB), Standard Bank, First Capital Bank (FCB) and Absa have an NPL ratio below the recommended (5%), respectively 2.15%, 2.37%, 3.38%, 2.52% and 3.51%.

Millennium BIM, one of the largest in the country and led by the Portuguese bank BCP, saw its non-performing loan ratio in the last quarter of the year fall to 2.89%, while that of BCI, led by Caixa Geral de Depósitos, rose to 11.89%.

Data from the central bank indicate that 15 commercial banks and 12 micro-banks currently operate in Mozambique, in addition to credit cooperatives and savings and credit organizations, among others.

Source: Lusa