Includes special features of this country’s banking system and rules/laws that might impact U.S. business.
Last Published: 8/5/2019

The banking system in Eswatini has three tiers of operation. There is the Central Bank, four commercial banks, and one building society.
The Central Bank of Eswatini is the monetary authority responsible for management of the country's foreign exchange reserves, administration of exchange controls, and regulation of financial institutions.

There are four commercial banks operating in Eswatini: First National Bank of Eswatini, NedBank, SwaziBank, and Standard Bank.  The GKoE-owned Eswatini Development and Savings Bank was restructured and has grown into a profitable corporation 
Three of the four commercial banks (excluding Swazi Bank) are subsidiaries of their South African parent banks.

Each of the operating banks has at least eight branches. Normal banking services are offered at all four banks, and interest rates on borrowing are those in South Africa. The prime rate is 10.25 percent. Through Eswatini’s membership in the Common Monetary Area, after-tax profits can be repatriated anywhere the investor chooses.  The corporate tax rate is 27.5%. There are no exchange regulations affecting transactions within the CMA.

Export financing is available through the Export-Import Bank but must be applied for by a Swati partner.  There are no Export-Import Bank bundling facilities in Eswatini. Project financing is available through such multilateral institutions as the World Bank and African Development Bank. In the past, resources have gone largely to infrastructure development, including roads and irrigation systems.

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