Banks lean on digital fees as loans underperform

The shift helped lift the banking industry’s total income in 2025, although it did not prevent annual profits from falling. Banks increasingly relied on fee payments, commissions, and currency transactions to offset pressure on their traditional business of “borrowing money” and lending it at a margin.

According to the latest Bank of Botswana Banking Supervision Report, the funds banks made from transactional fees and foreign exchange trading increased by 34% to P5.2 billion in 2025, accounting for 44% of total income, up from 34% a year earlier.