Times Of Swaziland: CREDIT EXTENDED TO PRIVATE SECTOR GROWS TO E20.1BN

CREDIT EXTENDED TO PRIVATE SECTOR GROWS TO E20.1BN
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Nhlanganiso Mkhonta on 07/10/2024 08:06:00


MBABANE - Credit extended to the private sector increased by 1.0 per cent
month-on-month and 7.8 per cent year-on-year to close at E20.1 billion at the
end of August 2024.
The rise in private sector credit was driven by credit to the other sectors of
the domestic economy and the business sector, while credit to households and
non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) declined.Credit to other
sectors of the domestic economy grew by 8.7 per cent month-on-month and declined
by 2.6 per cent year-on-year to settle at E1.1 billion at the end of August
2024.
The month-on-month improvement was on the backdrop of expansion in credit to
local government and other financial corporations while credit to parastatals
receded.
Credit to local government grew by 20.5 per cent to E81.8 million, while credit
to other financial corporations rose by 17.3 per cent to E637.1 million. Credit
to parastatals, however, declined by 4.3 per cent to close at E397.0 million at
the end of August 2024.  Credit extended to the business sector increased by 2.1
per cent month-on-month and 11.6 per cent year-on-year to settle at E10.4
billion at the end of August 2024.
Distribution
Growth in credit to businesses emanated from the following subsectors:
Construction (22.7 per cent), manufacturing (5.0 per cent), distribution and
tourism (4.0 per cent), and agriculture and forestry (3.6 per cent). In
contrast, a decline in credit was observed in the following subsectors: Mining
and quarrying (-68.9 per cent), community, social and personal services (1.5 per
cent), transport and communication (-1.1 per cent), and real estate (-1.0 per
cent). An analysis of credit to businesses by size, indicated that the
month-on-month improvement in credit to business was driven by credit to large
enterprises while credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) declined. Credit
to large enterprises grew by 3.0 per cent to E7.2 billion while credit to SMEs
decreased marginally by 0.1 per cent to E3.2 billion.
Credit extended to households and NPISH decreased by 1.1 per cent month-on-month
and grew by 5.0 per cent year-on-year to reach E8.5 billion at the end of August
2024. The month-on-month contraction was driven by other personal (unsecured)
and housing loans.Other personal (unsecured) loans declined by 3.0 per cent to
E3.1 billion while housing loans fell by a lesser 0.3 per cent to E4.3 billion.
In contrast, motor vehicle loans increased by 1.6 per cent to close at E1.1
billion at the end of August 2024.