According to the bank’s half-year ended June 2025, it expanded customer loans by nine percent year-on-year, with total loans and advances up 15% to P23.9 billion, hence defying tougher operating conditions. On the other hand, Stanbic’s customer deposits grew by eight percent to P25.3 billion, reflecting sustained confidence in the bank even as liquidity thinned across the market. Total revenue grew three percent, but the increase was muted by a 12% fall in net interest income, the difference between what the bank earns from lending and what it pays for deposits. The bank reported that interest income grew seven percent on the back of book growth across all segments, but this was more than offset by a 53% surge in interest expenses. Executives said in a statement issued on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) that the rise in interest expense was directly linked to the cash squeeze in the economy, which has forced banks to compete harder for deposits.
“While optimisation interventions in the balance sheet as well as book growth across all business segments provided seven percent interest income improvement, the liquidity pressures increased the cost of funding,” they stated. Equally, profit before tax (PBT) fell seven percent to P390 million for the interim results, down from P420 million last year, as higher funding costs eroded gains from strong loan and deposit growth. Liquidity pressures, essentially the availability of cash in the financial system, have been a problem, especially with government revenues falling due to lower diamond sales, leading to slower payments across the economy. Businesses and households are holding onto cash, making deposits more expensive to attract and retain. This has left banks paying more to fund their lending books, squeezing profitability.
