Banks post strong 2025 gains

**Zambian Banks Navigate Geopolitical Headwinds After Stellar 2025 Performance** Zambia's banking sector concluded 2025 with an impressive display of resilience and growth, reporting robust profits, enhanced asset quality, and a significant uptick in lending, according to a recent statement from the Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ). This strong performance underscored a period of remarkable stability and strategic investment, with BAZ CEO Leonard Mwanza highlighting that non-performing loans remained comfortably below the prudential 10 percent benchmark, a testament to prudent financial management and a stable operating environment. The sector's contributions extended beyond mere profitability, playing a pivotal role in national development by channelling vital financing into critical economic arteries such as energy, including the burgeoning alternative solutions market, and the crucial agricultural sector. This latter focus was significantly bolstered by the K5 billion facility extended by the Bank of Zambia, with a deliberate emphasis on fostering climate-smart initiatives to enhance food security and mitigate environmental impact across the nation. These commendable financial results were intrinsically linked to a period of improving macroeconomic conditions that characterised much of 2025. The Kwacha, Zambia’s national currency, demonstrated a strengthening trajectory, while inflationary pressures gradually receded, reaching a commendable 7.1 percent by March of the current year. This favourable economic climate provided a fertile ground for banks to expand their operations, manage risks effectively, and contribute meaningfully to the nation's economic output. However, this optimistic outlook, which promised continued stability and growth, has now been cast under a shadow by the sudden escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which flared up dramatically around February 20. The distant conflict, though geographically removed, is already mani