MBABANE – Business confidence showed signs of softening at the end of August 2026, with credit extended to the private sector declining by 1.4 per cent month-on-month to E23.5 billion.
This was largely due to reduced borrowing by businesses, despite continued growth in lending to households and other sectors of the domestic economy.
According to the Central Bank of Eswatini’s monthly statistical release for August/September 2026, private sector credit remained 10.5 per cent higher year-on-year, indicating that lending was still above the level recorded in August 2025, although the latest monthly figures reflected a slowdown in credit uptake by businesses.
The decline was driven by a 4.8 per cent contraction in credit extended to the business sector, which outweighed increases in lending to households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH), as well as other sectors of the domestic economy.
The figures provide an indication of changing borrowing patterns across the economy, with businesses reducing their outstanding credit, while households continued to increase their use of bank financing.
Credit extended to the business sector fell to E12.3 billion in August 2026, representing a 4.8 per cent decrease compared with July. However, business credit remained 7.1 per cent higher than in August 2025.
The monthly contraction was largely driven by lower lending to agriculture and forestry, which declined by 24.6 per cent.
Credit to the distribution and tourism sector fell by 4.8 per cent, while transport and communication recorded a 3.2 per cent decrease. Lending to construction also declined by 1.2 per cent.
These reductions were partly offset by increases in lending to mining and quarrying, real estate, manufacturing, and community, social and personal services.
Credit extended to mining and quarrying surged by 61.9 per cent month-on-month, while real estate lending increased by 4.7 per cent. Manufacturing recorded a modest 0.8 per cent increase, while credit to community, social and personal services rose by 0.2 per cent.
The overall decline in business credit was also reflected in the breakdown by enterprise size, with large businesses accounting for the bulk of the contraction.
Credit extended to large enterprises decreased by 8.9 per cent to E8.4 billion in August, while lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) moved in the opposite direction, increasing by 5.6 per cent to E3.9 billion.
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