Stanbic Bank Botswana reported a marginal 0.3% increase in profit to P709.7 million for the year ended December 2025, as strong growth in non-interest income helped offset pressure on interest margins in a tight liquidity environment.
Total net income rose 3% to P2.02 billion, supported by a 62.5% surge in non-interest income driven largely by trading and fee growth. However, net interest income declined sharply to P1.07 billion as funding costs surged, with interest expense rising significantly and compressing margins.
Profit before tax edged up slightly to P951.7 million, reflecting resilience in earnings despite higher credit impairments, which nearly doubled to P84.6 million amid a tougher macroeconomic environment.
Balance sheet growth remained constrained, with loans and advances declining 9% to P21.3 billion and customer deposits falling 2.1% to P22.7 billion, as the bank deliberately tightened risk and managed liquidity in response to market conditions.
Cost discipline remained a key lever, with the cost-to-income ratio improving to 48.6% from 49.1%, while capital strength improved significantly, with the capital adequacy ratio rising to 22.6%, well above regulatory thresholds.
Segmentally, Corporate and Investment Banking delivered strong earnings growth driven by trading income, while Business and Commercial Banking and Personal and Private Banking faced pressure from higher funding costs and weaker lending activity.
Management said the operating environment remained challenging, citing liquidity constraints, elevated funding costs and ongoing weakness in the diamond sector, but expects opportunities from economic diversification efforts and its new “Kgolo” strategy to support future growth.