Bank profits reach P1.9bn in H1
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday September 21, 2026 06:00
In 2025, however, commercial banks’ collective profits broke a four-year streak of growth, declining by about nine percent to P3.79 billion, as they were impacted by broader economic pressures that raised their funding costs as well as bad debt provisions.
Bank of Botswana numbers released recently indicate that the banks have recovered from their slowdown in 2025, helped by stronger non-interest income and lower provisions for bad and doubtful debts.
The stronger non-interest income is linked to July 2025 changes to the exchange rate framework made by the Bank of Botswana, giving commercial banks greater room in the margins they charge both buyers and sellers of foreign currency.
However, analysts believe the swing in fortunes for banks in the first half of the year is also due to improved liquidity in the market, which has lowered the cost of funding and allowed banks to loosen their credit output.
The improvement in liquidity is related to an improvement in diamond exports and a bumper dividend paid by the central bank to government in the first quarter of the year.
Listed banks that have thus far released their results have all reported higher pretax profits for the half year, except for Access Bank, which expects its profits for the first half of the year to be up to 50% lower, due to the impact of paying out exit packages during the period.
First National Bank Botswana, the country’s largest bank, recently unveiled full-year results to June 30, showing profit before tax rising by 12% to P2.12 billion, from P1.9 billion previously.
The country’s second largest bank, Absa Bank Botswana, meanwhile, recorded an 18% increase in profit after tax to P377 million in the first half of 2026, supported by higher total income, strong foreign exchange trading performance, and continued diversification of its revenue streams.
Another member of local banking’s Big Four, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana, expects its pretax profits to come in as much as 26% higher for the half year ended June 2026. Stanchart is set to unveil its results before September 30.
Stanbic Bank Botswana, the final member of the Big Four, recorded a 16% jump in its pretax profits for the half-year ended June 30, 2026, helped by stronger non-interest revenue linked to foreign exchange trading volumes and improved margins.
The country’s commercial banks are amongst the economy’s most consistently profitable sectors, defying periods of downtrends and weaknesses over the years.