The volume of Mozambican bank reserves totalled 245.5 billion meticals in November last year, as a result of intervention by the Bank of Mozambique (BoM) to “absorb” excess liquidity.
According to a statistical report from the institution, the volume of these reserves has grown practically every month since April 2023.
According to the BdM, the obligatory reserves of commercial banks at the central bank were set at a coefficient of 10.5 per cent in national currency and 11 per cent in foreign currency at the beginning of January 2023.
However, in the first six months of last year, the Bank of Mozambique increased this coefficient twice, arguing that it was necessary to “absorb excessive liquidity in the banking system, with the potential to generate inflationary pressure”.
The last of these increases took place in June, with 39 per cent of deposits in national currency and 39.5 per cent in the case of foreign currency remaining in bank reserves.
Following this increase, the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) considered that the decision made it even more expensive to take out bank finance, an essential mechanism in an economy of small and medium-sized enterprises.
