The General Assembly of the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) has approved, on July 13, the accession of the African Solidarity Fund and the Arab Bank for the Economic Development of Africa.
The BDEAC continues its policy of enlargement to foreign capital, after the entry a few months ago of the African Development Bank, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kuwaiti Fund. These new holdings reflect, according to the president of the BDEAC, Fortunato Mbo Nchama, the good health of the bank and the attractiveness of the sub-regional market.
Indeed, the balance sheet for the financial year 2019 shows a net profit up 32%, or more than 15 billion FCFA against 11 billion FCFA in 2018. Better still, the total balance sheet stands at 459.8 billion FCFA, compared to 428.6 billion the previous year. “The general shareholders’ meeting was pleased with the growing solidarity of the bank’s activities, which continues to show a good level of profitability despite the headwinds which continue to blow in the economies of the sub-region,” Fortunato Mbo Nchama said..
The attractiveness of the Community financial institution is partly linked to the reforms carried out in recent years in terms of financing and monitoring the implementation of projects. For example, the granting of a loan or credit, often to state structures, the BDEAC imposes conditions precedent for disbursement and conditions of execution.
“Our mission consists not only in disbursing grants, but also in monitoring so that the funding granted is effectively used in accordance with the terms of reference of the projects retained by the bank (…) There are also cases where after a first or second disbursement, our inspection teams discover that the subsidies granted have not been put to good use, ”said the boss of the bank.
One of the highlights of the 64th ordinary session of the BDEAC’s general assembly held by videoconference on Monday was the change at the head of the bank’s governing body, now ensured by the Central African Minister of Finance and of the Budget, Henri-Marie Dondra.
Note that the main shareholders remain the six member countries of Cémac, with more than 50% of shares. These are Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.
