Eswatini
The Central Bank of Eswatini's Licensing Policy No. 1 of 2021 has a licence category for Islamic banks and lets existing banks apply for Islamic windows. No Islamic bank or window was found operating as of 14 November 2026.
Five checks
Banking rulesFound
The CBE Policy on Licensing of Banking and Financial Institutions No. 1 of 2021 (1 April 2021) sets 'Category E: Islamic Banks'. It applies the same licensing criteria as for conventional banks, sets minimum start-up capital of E8 million and a 12 percent capital adequacy ratio, requires a Shariah advisory board, and allows a conventional bank to apply for an Islamic window, branch or subsidiary with separate funds. It lists permitted activities such as deposits, Murabahah, Salam, Ijarah and Istisna financing and profit sharing investment accounts. The policy is still linked from the Central Bank's financial regulation page.
- “CATEGORY E: Islamic Banks”
Central Bank of Eswatini · 2021-04-01 - “Application to conduct Islamic banking business activities is open to any qualified foreign-based financial institutions and Eswatini financial institutions.”
Central Bank of Eswatini · 2021-04-01 - “wishes to operate an Islamic Window, Branch or subsidiary in Eswatini must apply to the CBE”
Central Bank of Eswatini · 2021-04-01 - “Licensing policy”
Central Bank of Eswatini · 2026-11-14
Licensed banks and windowsNot checked
- “0 results found for: islamic”
Central Bank of Eswatini · 2026-11-14
Sukuk issuedNot checked
Takaful (non-interest insurance)Not checked
Not confirmed. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (insurance and securities regulator) website search did not run, so takaful could not be checked there.
Capital market rulesNot checked
Not confirmed. The FSRA and Eswatini Stock Exchange websites could not be searched.
Recent developments
- 2024According to the ICD-LSEG Islamic Finance Development Report 2025, the Central Bank of Eswatini said in a 2024 LinkedIn post that it would look to attract more Islamic banks. source
- 2025-10-08The Central Bank granted a provisional bank licence to SBS Bank Eswatini as a medium-sized commercial bank. It is not an Islamic licence. source
Still open
Points we could not confirm at source yet.
- Obtain the Central Bank of Eswatini's current list of licensed banks and confirm none holds a Category E licence or window approval.
- Check the FSRA for any takaful or Islamic fund rules.
- Find the 2024 Central Bank LinkedIn post cited by the ICD-LSEG report.
Where we searched
- Central Bank of Eswatini: Licensing Policy No. 1 of 2021 PDF read in full for Category E; financial-regulation, legislation, provisional bank licensing (Oct 2025) and Letshego licensing (Jun 2025) pages; site search for 'islamic' (0 results)
- FSRA (fsra.co.sz): home page and search URLs all returned the same page; WordPress search API not available. Not searched properly
- Eswatini Stock Exchange (ese.co.sz): homepage only; search API returned 404
- Bank own sites: FNB Eswatini (Islamic URL paths redirect to the homepage; no Islamic content), Standard Bank Eswatini homepage (no Islamic content); Nedbank Eswatini and Eswatini Bank domains tried did not respond
- Eswatini Financial Times article on the licensing categories: page now returns 'Page not found', not used