By Achille Mog Pibasso, Douala.
The Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) declared that the approval of the Bank of Africa group (BOA) to open a subsidiary in Cameroon has lapsed.
The decision of the banking regulator in Central Africa, disrupts the banking system in Cameroon where Moroccan groups are present. In addition to Attijariwafa Bank which took over the Commercial Bank Corporation (SCB), the banking presence of the Sherifian kingdom is reflected by the acquisition in late 2018 of the International Bank of Cameroon for savings and credit (BICEC) by the Central People’s Bank (BCP), the same Moroccan financial holding company that already controls Banque Atlantique Cameroun.
In its 2018 report on monetary policy in the six countries of the sub-region, in this case Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Chad, published on January 15, 2019, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) explains the motivations of this situation. In any event, “the Bank of Africa (BOA) Cameroon approval was declared null and void by the Banking Commission at its meeting of September 20, 2018. The data of this bank are not taken into account in the note “specifies the regulator.
The consequence of this decision is that the BOA, which nevertheless obtained the approval of the Central African Banking Commission in 2016 and whose authorization from the Cameroonian government dates back to May 8, 2017, can no longer, in the current state, deploy his sign in the country. However, BOA, which had announced that it had a capital of CFAF 10 billion as required by EU regulations, was planning to deploy around 20 branches and offices in the first two years of operation.
When registering for the BOA West Africa trade and real estate credit register, the holding company that controls the operation, indicated that it had acquired 760,000 shares with a nominal value of 10,000 CFA francs in the new institution under construction, through the reclassification of equity securities, the payment of the capital of BOA Cameroun.
In a move to create a new bank with a capital of 10 billion CFA francs and in which this group Sherifian bank will be majority shareholder at 76%, the remaining 24% of shares remaining to return to partners among whom Cameroonian investors.
