(Business in Cameroon) – Fifteen of the 19 credit institutions operating in Cameroon in 2024, or 78.9%, fully complied with the country’s prudential standards. This is according to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) 2025 report on Cameroon.
The pan-African financial institution highlighted that this level of compliance demonstrates “a certain resilience of the banking system as a whole.” However, the AfDB report also revealed that despite strong adherence to prudential ratios, the loan portfolio of Cameroonian credit institutions deteriorated in 2024.
“The quality of the portfolio deteriorated over the period, with the gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rising to 14.3% at the end of November 2024, compared to 13.4% in 2023,” the AfDB stated.
A non-performing loan is a bank or microfinance institution loan that has not been repaid by its scheduled due date due to borrower difficulties. According to the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), non-performing loans include frozen loans, unpaid loans, and doubtful loans.
According to COBAC, “Frozen loans are claims more than three months overdue that cannot be immediately recovered, even if their eventual repayment is not yet compromised. Unpaid loans refer to amounts past their normal due date. Doubtful loans include any lending, even if guaranteed, that carries a probable risk of not being fully or partially recovered.”
BRM
