Botswana's banking sector is still flush with cash and looks agog for the challenges of 2009.

This is in stark contrast to what is going on in much of the world where credit lines and loan facilities have ceased up. In the first week of the New Year, some Botswana banks were marketing personal and SMME loans while others were recruiting more staff.

Even micro lenders were advertising their loan facilities early in the year. A snap media survey during the first week of 2009 found Standard Chartered Bank flaunting personal loans with a three-month grace period. The facility is extended even to those already servicing their loans with Stanchart. The latest entrant on the market, Capital Bank, was unfurling its lower lending rates and running recruitment ads for a head of credit, a senior sales and marketing manager and an internal auditor. The African Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered were also promoting reduced lending rates, as was First National Bank, which was also recruiting more staff.