CBE’s 50 years of growth
EZULWINI – The country’s financial services sector has realised significant and sound growth over the years.
This was shared by Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) Governor Dr Phil Mnisi, when he delivered his speech during the bank’s 50th anniversary, which was graced by Their Majesties and dignitaries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
The glittering event was held on Friday at the newly-acquired CBE Complex Site situated in Ezulwini.
It had guests showing up in beautiful outfits, while others looked the part in their traditional regalia.
The guests not only enjoyed good food and music, but were also enlightened on the history of the CBE, the milestones it has achieved and its future plans. Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg kept the guests entertained throughout as the MC of the night. He would now and again share jokes using both the siSwati and English language and the guests just loved it.
Meanwhile, when delivering his speech, Mnisi reported that the country’s banking system remained sound, with strong liquidity buffers and was adequately capitalised.
He mentioned that the sector continued to be profitable, demonstrating financial sustainability.
According to the governor, CBE believed that it had significantly lowered the perceived barriers of entry in the industry by opening up for more players through the introduction of the Policy on Licensing of Banking and Financial Institutions that accommodates various types of licences at tiered levels.
This includes licensing of nonbank financial service providers to provide digital financial services such as mobile money and other value-add services.
“Your Majesty, as we celebrate 50 years of central banking experience, the financial sector has exhibited steady growth over the years. The number of licensed banking institutions has not significantly changed as we have one additional entrant into the banking space in the period to date,” said Mnisi.
He said however, individual banks have grown organically and have spread their footprints across the hills and valleys of the country.
For instance, the governor said, the number of branches had grown to 45, which signals great strides in taking banking services to the people, while banking assets grew from E3.4 billion in 2003 to E29.3 billion in 2023.
On the other hand, he said non-bank financial institutions have shown significant growth in the 10 years, following the last commemoration. “The value of non-bank financial services institutions’ assets has grown from levels of about E54.9 billion in 2014 to E99.1 billion observed in 2023, which shows that the country’s financial services sector is robust. This is also aligned with growth in the number of licensed entities which is currently recorded at 506 entities,” he said.
Regarding the anniversary, the governor said on such an occasion, celebrating the life of a key institution spanning half a century, there was so much to share.
He expressed his profound gratitude to the CBE Board, management and staff, and partners who he said worked tirelessly in preparation for the event.
Mnisi said he was privileged to be serving as the seventh governor during the Bank’s Golden Jubilee, which was being celebrated.
He said one of the milestones achieved by the bank in its 50 years of existence was that it has managed to maintain a low inflation environment, thus protecting the value of the Lilangeni and preventing the erosion of consumers’ buying power.
The governor said CBE’s collaboration with regional central banks fosters positive development across the SADC region.
“This has resulted in developed financial markets, improved financial stability, more effective monetary policy, greater financial inclusion, enhanced financial integration, strengthened regulatory frameworks, and establishment of the SADC Real Time Gross Settlement System, which is predominately used to process large-value payments in the region, among others,” Mnisi said
Meanwhile, the governor also mentioned that CBE was attentive to climate change risks and how to mitigate them.
He said he was happy to mention that the ‘Greening of the Central Bank of Eswatini Project’ commissioned recently to drive climate change mitigation and adaptation measures at bank-level.
Mnisi said the project has been funded through the Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership Action Fund and UNDP Eswatini has been designated an implementing partner for the project.
Regarding legislative reforms, the governor said for the CBE to be effective in executing its regulatory mandate, there was a need for a progressive legislative framework that will stimulate economic activities.
He said CBE was currently amending its regulatory framework through the International Monetary Fund’s technical assistance.
The bank, he said, has proposed legislative amendments, hence there was now the Central Bank Bill, Financial Institutions Bill as well as the Financial Stability Bill, which the minister of Finance will table in Parliament soon.