CREDIT EXTENDED TO CONSTRUCTION UP 3.4%

MBABANE - The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) has announced that credit extended to the private sector has increased by 3.4 per cent.

This was revealed by CBE in their monthly statistics. CBE said credit extended to businesses rose by 4.0 per cent from the previous month and 18.3 per cent over the year to settle at E7.8 billion at the end of May 2022. It said the growth was recorded in credit to the following subsectors; distribution and tourism (15.3 per cent), community, social and personal services (7.2 per cent), construction (3.4 per cent) as well as transport and communication (2.6 per cent).

Recorded

“However, a fall was recorded in credit to these subsectors; mining and quarrying (-11.4 per cent), manufacturing (-1.4 per cent), real estate (-1.1 per cent) and agriculture and forestry (-0.1 per cent),” it said. CBE said the credit extended to other sectors amounted to E758.3 million at the end of May 2022, down by 10.4 per cent month-on-month and 57.6 per cent year-on-year. It said the reduction was observed in credit to other financial corporations and local government, which fell by 17.7 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively. “Credit to public nonfinancial corporations, on the other hand, rose by 4.1 per cent over the month under review,” it said.

The central bank also mentioned that broad money supply (M2) grew by 2.4 per cent month-on-month and 0.3 per cent year-on-year to reach E20.4 billion at the end of May 2022, supported by quasi money supply. Narrow money suppy (M1), however, declined over the month under review. It said Quasi money supply amounted to E12.9 billion at the end of May 2022, higher by 4.3 per cent month-on-month and 2.9 per cent year-on-year. The expansion was registered in both time and savings deposits, which grew by 4.9 per cent to E10.9 billion and 1.1 per cent to E2.0 billion. CBE further mentioned that M1 fell by 0.7 per cent from April 2022 and 4.0 per cent compared to the previous year to reach E7.5 billion at the end of May 2022.

Contracted

“An analysis of the components of M1 revealed that Emalangeni outside depository corporations contracted by 9.4 per cent month-on-month to E672.8 million whilst transferable (demand) deposits rose by 0.2 per cent to E6.8 billion at the end of May 2022,” said the CBE. They added that their liquid assets grew by 0.9 per cent month-on-month and 11.8 per cent year-on-year to E7.8 billion at the end of May 2022. The improvement was explained by a rise in the banks’ cash holdings as well as balances held with local banks and the central bank.
The banks’ liquidity ratio, however, decreased from 38.9 per cent in April 2022 to 38.7 per cent at the end of May 2022, due to a higher increase in domestic liabilities than the liquid assets.

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