Household borrowing drove Namibia’s private sector credit growth in March 2026, as mortgage lending and instalment credit gained momentum while business credit slowed sharply during the month.
According to Simonis Storm Securities Economist Almandro Jansen, private sector credit extension (PSCE) growth moderated to 4.3% in March from 4.7% in February, with the total loan book reaching N$123.3 billion.
“The total loan book stood at N$123.3 billion, representing a marginal N$0.1 billion increase in absolute terms over the month, with the annual increment reaching N$4.6 billion in net new credit extended to the domestic private sector relative to March 2025,” Jansen said.
Household credit growth accelerated to 4.1% in March, up from 2.9% in February, pushing the household loan book to N$71.6 billion.
Jansen said this marked the strongest household credit reading in the current cycle after growth remained largely constrained between 2.5% and 3.0% over the past year.
Mortgage lending recorded a notable recovery, with annual growth increasing to 1.9% from 0.4% in February and 0.3% in January. The total household mortgage book stood at N$46.5 billion.
Household instalment and leasing credit continued to expand strongly, rising 15.3% year-on-year in March 2026 as consumer demand for vehicle and asset financing remained elevated.
Overdraft credit also returned to positive territory, recording 0.5% annual growth.
In contrast, corporate credit growth slowed significantly to 4.4% in March from 7.3% in February, with the business loan book declining to N$51.8 billion.
“Business credit growth fell to 4.4% in March 2026 from 7.3% in February, a deceleration of 290 basis points in a single month and the lowest reading since November 2024,” Jansen said.
The slowdown was largely driven by weaker overdraft activity, with business overdraft credit contracting by 2.6% year-on-year after recording positive growth of 5.4% in February.
Despite the broader slowdown in business lending, instalment and leasing credit in the corporate sector rose 28.6% year-on-year, with the corporate instalment book expanding to N$8.3 billion, indicating continued investment in productive assets by businesses.
