So far, efforts to stabilise the banking system have not resulted in a resumption of bank lending; for this reason, it is feared that economic recovery may take longer, possibly way into 2010. There is also concern that countries will increasingly resort to protectionist trade policies, a trend that would be self-defeating since no economy can resolve its problems in isolation.
Fortunately, commercial banks in Botswana are not yet impaired by the impact of the “credit crunch” that is afflicting other countries. Bank deposits far exceed loans; and banks have generally avoided accumulating unmanageable risk. In this connection, it is worth mentioning that Batswana should learn from the mistakes of over-borrowing, the dire consequences of which have hit households elsewhere in the world very hard.