The annual 2024 report released today by the central bank indicates that “the share of foreign capital rose to about 83%,” amounting to 46.121 million meticais (611.5 million euros), with the remainder being of Mozambican origin.
In 2023, the same report had identified that 82.6% of the share capital of the same 15 banks operating in Mozambique was foreign.
The 2024 report states that “South African capital maintained its dominant position, with a share of around 29.5%, followed by Portuguese capital, with 25.3%.”
“Individually, the Banco Comercial e de Investimentos [part of the Portuguese group Caixa Geral de Depósitos] maintained the position with the largest share capital (18%), followed by Moza Banco with 13%, and Absa Bank Moçambique with about 10% of the banking system’s capital,” the document notes.
The report also highlights the growth of microcredit operators in Mozambique, which increased from the previous 2,304 to 2,818, while the number of banks (15), credit cooperatives (four), and investment companies (one) remained unchanged, and microbanks grew from 14 to 15 over the last year.
Profits of Mozambican banks decreased by 21.9% in 2024, equivalent to about 900,000 euros per day, according to previous data from the Bank of Mozambique.
The central bank explains in a financial stability report that the drop in net banking results, totaling 24 billion meticais (319.4 million euros), is due, on one hand, to “the increase in operating costs, notably personnel expenses, by 7.88%,” but also “the reduction of other operating results, reflecting an increase in impairment losses by 44.6%.”
In 2023, profits of Mozambican banks had grown by 8.12% compared to the previous year, the document recalls, adding that in the 2024 result, 64.63%, equivalent to 16.82 billion meticais (223.8 million euros), correspond to only three credit institutions classified as systemic.
These include Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), owned by Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the South African Standard Bank, and Banco Internacional de Moçambique (BIM), part of the Portuguese group BCP.
The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of Mozambican banks “remains above the conventionally accepted limit (5%), standing at 9.32%, after 8.23% in 2023,” while the NPL coverage ratio settled at 60.29% in 2024, against 66.02% in 2023, the central bank points out.
“The banking sector remains profitable with adequate levels of capitalization, liquidity, and profitability, despite the reduction in asset quality,” the report indicates, adding that in 2024, the global solvency ratio was fixed at 26.11%, “above the regulatory minimum of 12%.”
