By Kingsley Jassi:
The country’s seven out of eight commercial banks made a combined K820 billion in profits-after-tax.
This is analysed from their financial statements.
Their profitability more-than doubled from just K407.3 billion combined last year.
Records show their performance in recent years has been driven by a revenue-strapped government that resorted to high-budget-deficit financing through Treasury bills.
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A separate analysis by Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), through the half year Financial Stability report, shows banks’ assets expanded by 17.2 percent at the close of 2025 as compared to June, boasting a combined K9.9 trillion.
However, credit concentration in three out of seven sectors worries the central bank, which has initiated a move to influence banks to diversify credit to the national priority sectors under the Agriculture, Tourism, Mining and Manufacturing (ATMM) agenda.
“These initiatives, aligned with the ATMM strategy and the broader growth agenda, are expected, over time, to support a more diversified and resilient credit portfolio, reinforcing overall financial stability,” the central bank’s report shows.
Nevertheless, the banks registered 4.4 percent loan default rate below the 5 percent red line.
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Leading in profits value is National Bank of Malawi, which has added K198.97 billion, followed by FCB with K152.3 billion while NBS Bank’s K150.5 billion and FDH Bank’s K148.7 billion come third and fourth, respectively.
Standard Bank, CDH Bank and Centenary Bank raked in K121.7 billion, K43.22 billion and K5.1 billion profits, respectively, and Ecobank, missing on the list, has not published its financial statement.
Economist, Joseph Nagoli, who is also board chairperson for the Public Private Partnership Commission, suggests the creation of an attractive environment for investments to ensure that resources are invested in productive sectors that are underproducing.
