Banking Industry

The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) supervises banks and other financial service institutions registered under the Act to ensure a safe and sound financial system. Currently, there are seventeen commercial banks licensed under the Banking and Financial Services Act of 1994. The majority of the banks are subsidiaries of foreign banks and they are also the most dominant and oldest financial institutions in Zambia. Their dominance is reflected in the size of their total assets relative to other financial institutions as well as in their relatively wider role in financial intermediation, they also have a wider outreach.

Non bank registered financial institutions include twenty micro finance institutions, eleven leasing companies, forty two foreign exchange bureaus, three building societies, one development bank and one savings and credit institution. They complement the role of commercial banks by providing some financial services that commercial banks may not be well placed to provide. They also compete with commercial banks and challenge them to be more efficient and responsive to the needs of their customers.

The banks have come together under the Bankers` Association of Zambia which serves as a forum to address issues affecting the banking sector.

Some players in the banking sector having experienced growth in assets, deposits, profitability and products offerings around 2007 to 2008, embarked on wide branch network expansion, automation of a large number of services etc thereby increasing competition. This growth has however slowed down due to the economic downturn among other challenges. Within the past two years, four new entrants have come into the market.

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides services to a large number of players in the banking sector. We have a large specialist financial services practice managed by teams of auditors, management consultants and tax advisers.