Maputo — The mandatory reserves held by Mozambique's commercial banks increased to 308.9 billion meticais (4.8 billion US dollars at the current exchange rate) last May, which corresponds to almost 31 percent.

According to the latest statistical report from the Bank of Mozambique, in its role as regulator of the national financial system, after the decline recorded in April, mandatory reserves surged in May following the entry into force of the latest increase in reserve requirements decided by the central bank.

The volume of these reserves had reached a peak of 259. 2 billion meticais in December 2025, before falling to 225.3 billion meticais in January this year and then gradually increasing again until March.

Since the end of December 2022, when mandatory reserves stood at 62.1 billion meticais, the volume of funds required by the central bank had increased by almost 400 percent by the end of 2024.

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Amid foreign currency shortages in the domestic market, Mozambican businesses had been insisting since 2024 on the need for the central bank to ease mandatory reserve requirements, particularly those applied to foreign currency deposits.

That decision came on 27 January 2025, when the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO) of the Bank of Mozambique decided to reduce reserve requirements to 29 percent for national currency and 29.5 percent for foreign currency.

However, last May, the CPMO decided to maintain the mandatory reserve ratio for foreign currency liabilities at 29.5 percent, while increasing the ratio applied to national currency liabilities from 29 percent to 39 percent.