The services sector held the largest share of 30.2% of the banking industry credit as of August 2021.

This was followed by the commerce and finance sector and the manufacturing sectors with respective shares of 20.8% and 11.1%.

According to the September 2021 Banking Sector Development Report, these three sectors therefore accounted for 62.0% of total credit in August 2021, compared with 58.3% in August 2020.

The remaining share of 38.0% was distributed across five other economic sectors in various proportions.

The mining and quarrying sector were the lowest recipient of industry credit with a share of 2.1% at the end of August 2021, compared with a 3.1% share in the previous year.

Also, growth in gross advances picked up during the last two months but generally remained within the single digit range due to the negative impact of Covid-19 on credit risk, the attraction of the risk free instruments and the general low demand for credit.

The stock of gross loans and advances amounted to ¢48.9 billion at the end of August 2021, representing a lower annual growth of 8.7%, compared to 15.6% growth in August 2020.

The 8.7% growth rate, however, marginally exceeded the 5.7% growth as at the end of June 2021. Private sector credit which accounts for the biggest share of total credit (89.9% of total credit) also recorded a decline in growth from 14.1% to 9.6% during the review period.

Similarly, growth in public sector credit, declined to 1.5% in August 2021, from 29.8% in August 2020 while its share in total credit moderated to 10.1% from 10.8% during the same comparative period.