The Bank of Mozambique (BM) has lowered its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 15%, Governor Rogério Zandamela told journalists at the Bank's headquarters on Monday.

In this case, the cost of money for financial institutions has fallen. "This decision is underpinned by the continued consolidation of the outlook for single-digit inflation in the medium term, in a context in which the assessment of the risks and uncertainties associated with the projections remains favorable," explained the governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela.

With this reduction in interest rates, it is hoped that financial institutions will be able to finance themselves a little more easily and thus grant relatively less expensive loans.

Meanwhile, according to the governor of the Bank of Mozambique, the domestic public debt remains high, at 361.8 billion Meticais, which represents an increase of 49.5 billion compared to December 2023," warned Rogério Zandamela.

Regarding the recent failures in the banking payment system, Rogério Zandamela explained at a press conference held yesterday at the headquarters of the Bank of Mozambique that there are those who should be held responsible.

 "It's up to the institution to communicate this information to its customers who are suffering, who are being punished, that look, we have this problem, we're doing this and we're going to compensate or not. There's no doubt about it, it's the institution's responsibility to its customers," the governor clarified, referring to commercial banks with such payment problems.

If the commercial banks don't take responsibility, the Bank of Mozambique says it can act through dialog, sanctions, among others.