Banking and financial institutions granted less credit to companies and families during the 2023 financial year, reveals the Financial Inclusion Report for that year, published a few days ago by the Bank of Mozambique, the regulator of the national financial system. Even so, the institution says that the Financial Inclusion Index (IIF) increased by 1.14 points last year.
The report states that ‘for every 1,000 adults around 15.0 million Meticals were granted compared to 16.6 million Meticals in 2022’. The document also reports that the level of financial savings, measured by total deposits as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), stood at 44.1 per cent in the period in question, down 2.5 pp on 2022.
With regard to points of access to financial services per 10,000 square kilometres, the Central Bank found that during the period in question, the number of bank branches fell to 9.1, compared to 9.3 branches in 2022; the number of bank agents fell to 12.5, compared to 28.0 bank agents in 2022. The number of ATMs fell to 18.5, compared to 19.6 the previous year, and the number of POS dropped to 377.9, compared to 488.6 the previous year. Meanwhile, in the same period, the institution recorded an increase in the volume of non-bank agents to 2811 compared to the 1845.4 recorded in 2022.
With regard to the insurance market, in nominal terms, by the end of 2023 it had contracted by 0.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, which stood at 6.3 per cent. The insurance penetration rate in the economy stood at 2.03 %, compared to 1.85 % in 2022.
With regard to the stock market, the Central Bank noted that during the period under review, market capitalisation rose from 138.5 billion Meticals in 2022 to 183.8 billion Meticals in 2023, equivalent to growth of 32.7 %. As a proportion of GDP, market capitalisation stood at 25.8%, above the target of 9.2% set in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2016-2022.
‘The financial inclusion index (IIF), calculated by the Bank of Mozambique (BM) for 2023, stood at 15.13 points, which represents an increase of 1.14 points compared to the 13.99 points recorded in 2022. This growth is fundamentally the result of the increase in non-banking agents, bank accounts and electronic money,’ reads the report.
With the aim of ensuring ever greater financial security, for this year the Bank of Mozambique plans to implement a legal framework for basic bank accounts, which will facilitate access to the financial system for previously excluded segments; the approval of ENIF 2025-2031, which will promote coordinated policies and actions; the implementation of the unique bank identification number to simplify processes and reduce fraud.
The national financial system regulator also plans to consolidate interoperability between financial services for a more integrated and efficient system and to strengthen consumer protection with the implementation of the financial education strategy, as well as risk-based supervision in order to guarantee a safe and sustainable financial environment for all Mozambicans.
Carta de Moçambique
