Regulatory Alerts2020-04-02
Notice No. 003-03-2020 Regarding Auctions Under Measures Taken by BCEAO on March 21, 2020
The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) has instituted fixed-rate auctions at 2.50% starting March 27, 2020, to inject low-cost liquidity into the banking system and sustain economic financing amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Banks are required to pass these reduced funding costs on to customers, particularly by lowering interest rates and restructuring loans for resident enterprises struggling with pandemic-related payment maturities. The BCEAO reaffirms its commitment to deploying additional necessary measures within its mandate to mitigate the pandemic's adverse effects on Union economies.
In the context of implementing the measures taken by the BCEAO on March 21, 2020, to counter the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the banking system and ensure financing for economic activity within the Union, the Central Bank has decided to organize, starting March 27, 2020, auctions at its tender windows at a fixed rate of 2.50%, its lowest intervention rate.
This operation aims to provide banks with the necessary resources at a lower cost, in order to strengthen their liquidity and enable them to maintain and increase lending to the economy at lower rates, particularly benefiting enterprises and member states of the UEMOA.
Banks are therefore expected to pass on this reduction in their funding costs to customer loan interest rates, particularly within the framework of restructuring loans to resident enterprises affected by the pandemic and facing difficulties in meeting their payment maturities.
The Central Bank reaffirms its determination to take any other measures deemed necessary, within the scope of its mission, to counter the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economies of the Union.
CENTRAL BANK OF WEST AFRICAN STATES Avenue Abdoulaye FADIGA P.O. Box 3108 – Dakar - Senegal Tel.(221) 33 839 05 00 / Fax. (221) 33 823 93 95 www.bceao.int
NOTICE NO. 003-03-2020 REGARDING AUCTIONS UNDER THE MEASURES TAKEN BY THE BCEAO ON MARCH 21, 2020