Mmegi

Bank profits reach P1.9bn in H1

Finger on the pulse: The central bank keeps a close eye on banking sector trends and risks PIC: BANK OF BOTSWANA
Finger on the pulse: The central bank keeps a close eye on banking sector trends and risks PIC: BANK OF BOTSWANA

The collective profits of the country’s commercial banks reached P1.9 billion in the first six months of the year, from P1.7 billion over the corresponding period last year, as the institutions broke through a short-lived slowdown in the industry.

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.

Editor's Comment
The State apparatus must be sanitised

When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...

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