June recorded 17.1% increase in banking liquidity
The average liquidity balances of commercial banks increased by 17.1% to N$4.4 billion in June 2019, the Bank of Namibia indicated.
The central bank attributed the rise in liquidity to the liquidation of funds as companies were preparing for corporate tax payments due at the end of June.
Meanwhile, the annual growth in total private sector credit extension slowed to 7.8% at the end of June 2019, compared to 8.3% recorded in May 2019. The central bank noted that the slower growth was mainly driven by the business sector which made some repayments on their short term credit facilities particularly overdrafts during the month.
On a month on month basis, credit growth slowed to 2.8% mainly stemming from repayments made by businesses in the logistics and tourism sectors, bringing down their overdraft facilities.
Credit extended to individuals rose by 7.3% in June compared to 6.4% in May, largely due to the increased demand for credit by households. This growth, however, was not adequate to increase the credit growth rate above the May rate.
