Unsecured personal loans recorded the strongest growth in December 2025, rising 5.9 percent to E3.8 billion, as households increasingly turned to short-term borrowing.
This is contained in the Central Bank of Eswatini’s December 2025/January 2026 Monthly Statistical Release.
The surge in unsecured lending significantly contributed to the continued expansion of credit to Eswatini’s private sector, which rose to E22.41 billion in December from E21.95 billion in November. The increase represents a 2.1 percent month-over-month rise and a 9.8 percent year-over-year growth, reflecting sustained lending momentum to both households and businesses.
The Central Bank attributes the improvement primarily to increased credit uptake by households, Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (NPISH), and the business sector. However, credit to other sectors of the economy declined during the review period.
Credit extended to households and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (NPISH) rose 3.2 percent month-over-month and 8.9 percent year-over-year to E9.4 billion. The growth was broad-based across key lending categories, including motor vehicle and housing loans. Motor vehicle loans increased 2.8 percent to E1.4 billion, while housing loans posted more modest growth of 0.9 percent, closing the month at E4.3 billion.
Meanwhile, credit extended to the business sector increased by 2.2 per cent month-on-month and 12.2 per cent year-on-year to reach E11.9 billion in December. The expansion was largely driven by significant gains in transport and communications (14.9 per cent) and manufacturing (8.7 per cent).
Additional increases were observed in agriculture and forestry (0.9 per cent) and real estate activities (0.4 per cent). These gains outweighed contractions recorded in other sectors, notably construction, which declined sharply by 14.8 per cent. Credit to community, social, and personal services fell by 5.7 per cent, while distribution and tourism decreased by 2.9 per cent. Mining and quarrying also registered a 2.6 per cent decline.
Analysis of business credit by enterprise size shows growth across both large corporations and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Credit to large enterprises, which account for 67.7 percent of total business lending, increased by 1.0 percent to E8.0 billion. At the same time, SME lending expanded at a faster pace of 4.9 percent, reaching E3.8 billion and representing 32.3 percent of total business credit.