Regulatory Alerts2017-01-17
BCEAO Instruction No. 001-01-2017 on Prior Authorization for Modifications to Legal Form, Corporate Name, and Share Capital Structure of Decentralized Financial Systems in UMOA
The Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) issued Instruction No. 001-01-2017 to establish the prior authorization procedures for decentralized financial systems (SFDs) operating in the UMOA region to modify their legal form, corporate name, trade name, or share capital structure. The instruction mandates that SFDs submit a complete application file to the national Minister of Finance, detailing legal, financial, and operational documents according to standardized templates. It further specifies submission formats, sets a one-month window for providing supplementary information without suspending statutory processing deadlines, and requires the BCEAO National Directorate to forward copies of relevant files to the UMOA Banking Commission for oversight.