Mozambicans’ term deposits edge down in May but remain near record highs

According to the central bank’s latest statistical report, term deposits compared with 303.331 billion meticais (€4.108 billion) recorded in April – a 0.5% decline in May – and 302.557 billion meticais (€4.099 billion) in the same month of 2025. These deposits reached a total of 304.675 billion meticais (€4.126 billion) in January this year, the highest level in the recent series, after increasing from December. They then declined in February and March before rising again in April.

The all-time record remains that of July 2025, when term deposits reached 305.871 billion meticais (€4.142 billion). Meanwhile, demand deposits interrupted a run of several months of growth in May, falling to 501.385 billion meticais (€6.789 billion) after the 511.362 billion meticais (€6.924 billion) recorded in April. Even so, they remained above the 444.237 billion meticais (€6.014 billion) registered in the same month of 2025.

Overall, total bank deposits stood at 803.428 billion meticais (€10.881 billion) in May. Mozambique has 15 commercial banks and 12 microbanks, in addition to credit cooperatives and savings and credit organisations, among other financial institutions. The benchmark lending rate in Mozambique remained unchanged at 15.50% in June for the third consecutive month, following three previous cuts this year, the Mozambican Banking Association (AMB) announced earlier.

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Since January 2024, the rate, known as the prime rate, has been gradually declining after remaining at a high of 24.1% for six consecutive months. In January this year, the AMB decided to cut the rate by 10 basis points to 15.70%, leaving it unchanged in February despite the reduction in the central bank’s policy rate. Identical cuts of 10 basis points followed in March and April, before the rate was held steady in May and June.

Movements in the prime rate are linked to the central bank’s monetary policy interest rate (the MIMO rate, which influences the formula used to calculate the prime rate), as part of efforts to control inflation. Data from the Bank of Mozambique also show that the average interest rate paid on one-year deposits fell to 4.34% in May, compared with 4.65% in April and 6.60% in the same month of 2025.

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