Maputo, June 23, 2025 (Lusa) - Standard Bank was the most profitable Mozambican bank in 2024; however, the country’s three largest banks collectively saw their net profits decline by 31.4% last year, compared to the previous year, to €214 million.
Lusa compiled data today from the recently approved reports and accounts of the three banks—Standard Bank, with South African capital, Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI) and Millennium BIM, both with Portuguese capital—and reported that these banks had recorded record profits of 22.583 billion meticais (€312 million) in 2023.
However, the net results of the three banks considered systemic in the country fell to 15.482 billion meticais (€214 million) in 2024, according to the same data.
Standard Bank dethroned BCI in 2024 as the leader in profits, which, however, decreased by almost 15% in one year, to 6.134 billion meticais (€84.7 million).
BCI, owned by Portugal’s Caixa Geral de Depósitos, saw profits decline by more than 26% to 6.039 billion meticais (€83.4 million), while those of Millennium BIM, owned by Portugal’s BCP, fell 54% to 3.309 billion meticais (€45.7 million).
Millennium BIM and BCI confirmed that they will set aside dividends for 2024 as reserves, while Standard Bank proposed distributing 3.68 billion meticais (€50.8 million) in dividends, half the amount distributed in 2023.
BCI, Mozambique’s largest bank in terms of key indicators, with 2,712 employees, justified its 2024 performance “by the 127.1 per cent increase in impairment costs and provisions,” which reflected the prudence the bank adopted in “covering assets exposed to credit risk and sovereign risk.”
“The adverse post-election context, including the prospect of a downgrade of the country’s rating, largely drove this approach,” explains BCI’s report and accounts.
With a share capital of 10 billion meticais (€138 million), Caixa Participações leads BCI’s shareholder structure with 51% of the shares. The structure also includes the Portuguese bank BPI, which holds 35.67%, and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) directly holds 10.51%, among others.
Standard Bank explained that “stronger economic activity” will support performance, along with higher interest rates, ample foreign currency supplies, robust demand for credit, and an optimal reserve requirement ratio set by the central bank.
Standard Bank Mozambique is a private bank established in 1967, headquartered in Maputo, and it began operating in the country in 1894. Its parent company and majority shareholder, Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited, an investment bank incorporated in the United Kingdom, holds a 98.15% stake in the share capital.
On the other hand, Millennium BIM stated that the reduction in profits in 2024 is “essentially explained by increases in impairments and provisions”.
“Reflecting the increase in impairments for public debt,” BIM explains in its 2024 report and accounts, noting that impairments on public debt securities rose by 2.1 billion meticais (€29.2 million) last year, “following the downgrade of the rating for government issues in local currency.”
BIM began operations in October 1995 as a result of a strategic partnership between Banco Comercial Português (Millennium BCP) and the Mozambican government.
On 31 December 2024, it had share capital of 4.5 billion meticais (€62.6 million), mostly held by BCP África (Millennium BCP group), with a 66.69 percent stake, followed by the State of Mozambique (17.12%) the Mozambican National Social Security Institute (4.95 percent) and Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (4.15%), among other shareholders.
Fifteen commercial banks and twelve microbanks operate in Mozambique, in addition to credit cooperatives, savings and credit organisations, and other financial institutions.
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