Credit extended to Eswatini’s private sector climbed to E21.9 billion in November 2025, posting a 1.1 per cent increase from the previous month and an 8.5 per cent rise year-on-year.
According to the Central Bank of Eswatini’s (CBE) latest Monthly Statistical Release for November/December 2025, the increase was broad-based, reflecting gains in lending to businesses, households and nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISH), as well as other domestic sectors.
Business credit remained the main driver of growth, expanding by 1.4 per cent from the previous month and 11.8 per cent year-on-year to close at E11.6 billion. The expansion was underpinned by increased lending to key productive sectors, notably agriculture and forestry, which grew by 6.8 per cent, manufacturing at 2.7 per cent, real estate at 1.8 per cent, transport and communications at 0.5 per cent, and construction at 0.2 per cent.
However, these gains were partly offset by reduced credit to mining and quarrying, which contracted by 3.2 per cent, community, social and personal services at 1.0 per cent, and distribution and tourism, which declined by 0.4 per cent.
A closer look at business lending by firm size shows that large enterprises continued to attract a greater share of credit. Lending to large firms increased by 2.9 per cent to E7.9 billion, while credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) declined by 1.8 per cent to E3.6 billion. As a result, the share of total business credit held by large enterprises rose to 68.6 per cent in November 2025, up from 67.6 per cent in the previous month, while the SME share edged down to 31.4 per cent.
Credit extended to households and NPISH also recorded growth, increasing by 0.8 per cent month-on-month and 5.2 per cent year-on-year to E9.1 billion. The rise was driven mainly by motor vehicle loans, which expanded by 2.3 per cent to E1.4 billion, and other personal unsecured loans, which grew by 1.7 per cent to E3.6 billion.
In contrast, mortgage lending softened slightly during the period, declining by 0.4 per cent to E4.2 billion. Despite this marginal decrease, mortgages remained the largest component of household credit, accounting for 46.2 per cent of total household borrowing, although this was slightly down from 46.8 per cent in October 2025.
Meanwhile, credit to other domestic sectors rose to E1.2 billion in November 2025, reflecting growth of 1.4 per cent month-on-month and 4.6 per cent year-on-year. The increase was largely driven by higher lending to other financial corporations, which rose by 3.2 per cent to E666.2 million. This growth was partly offset by a decline in credit to local government, which fell by 2.5 per cent to E89.7 million, and a marginal reduction in lending to parastatal corporations, down 0.3 per cent to E451.6 million.