A Bank Lending Survey by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has shown that demand for loans went up between July and December 2018. 

The study shows that all economic agents such as households, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises contributed to the increased loan demand.

Due to improved consumer confidence and the increase in consumption expenditure contributed to households loaning more between July and December 2018 whilst SMEs loaned more due to inventory and working capital requirements, fixed capital investments and stable macro-economic environment.

The survey results revealed that the majority of banks indicated that non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking system decreased during the survey period. The decrease was perceived to be mainly in the household and SMEs sectors and largely due to write offs.