Banking access, credit appetite balloon - World Bank
Friday, September 17, 2010
According to the World Bank's Financial Access 2010 report released on Thursday, in 2009, nearly half of Botswana's adult population holds deposit accounts, while nearly a third have loans with various financial institutions.
Bank of Botswana statistics indicate that commercial banks held a total of P37.6 billion in deposits and P19.7 billion in outstanding loans by various sectors, notably households by December 2009.
Smash-and-grab incidents became common at traffic lights, Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) bombings made headlines too often, cash-in-transit robberies terrified security personnel, while home invasions left families traumatised in the very places they were supposed to feel safest. The situation had reached alarming levels and threatened not only the peace of ordinary citizens, but also the country’s reputation as one of the safest and most...