(Business in Cameroon) – The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) launched on October 8 a new liquidity offer for commercial banks across the CEMAC. This time, the proposed amount reached CFA340 billion, a record high for the central bank.
According to results released on October 10, 2024, commercial banks did not fully absorb the available funds. They expressed a need for only CFA259 billion, resulting in a subscription rate of 76.3%. While this operation shows that banks need liquidity, it does not indicate a critical level that would require exceeding offers of CFA250 to CFA260 billion. These amounts have generally matched the banks’ needs over the past few months.
On the other hand, if the central bank reduces its offers below these thresholds, it could harm credit institutions after over two years of a monetary policy aimed at tightening liquidity to limit access to credit. This strategy was officially intended to combat rising inflation in the CEMAC region.
With inflationary pressures easing in the markets since the start of the year, the BEAC began to relax its liquidity constraints in the second quarter of 2024. This shift became possible with the resumption of liquidity injections into banks last June, following more than a year of suspension.
