BANQUE CENTRALE DU CONGO

LE GOUVERNEUR

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INSTRUCTION N° 59 ON SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

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The Central Bank of Congo,

Having regard to the Organic Law No. 18/027 of December 13, 2018, on the organization and functioning of the Central Bank of Congo, particularly Articles 10 and 11;

Having regard to Law No. 22/069 of December 27, 2022, on the activity and supervision of credit institutions, particularly Article 95;

Enacts the following provisions:

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TITLE I: OBJECT AND SCOPE

Article 1:

This Instruction aims to establish the criteria used by the Central Bank of Congo to identify systemically important institutions at the national level, as well as the supplementary prudential measures applicable to them.

Systemically important institutions are entities whose failure or difficulties could significantly affect the financial system and the real economy.

Article 2:

This Instruction applies to:

• credit institutions;
• financial companies such as investment or development banks.

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TITLE II: IDENTIFICATION OF SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS

Article 3:

The Central Bank of Congo identifies two (2) categories of systemically important institutions, namely:

• systemically important banks. This category also includes the financial companies referred to in Article 2 of this Instruction;

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• other systemically important institutions. This category includes savings banks, microfinance companies, and savings and credit cooperatives.

Article 4:

Systemically important credit institutions are identified based on the following criteria:

• size;
• interconnection with the financial system;
• complexity of operations (for banks only);
• substitutability for national economic actors.

Article 5:

The position of each institution with respect to each of the four (4) criteria above is assessed through indicators that are scored. The weights applied to each indicator allow for the assignment of a global score.

Annex 1 of this Instruction presents the indicators retained and the weights applied for banks and financial companies. Annex 2 presents the indicators retained and the weights applied for other credit institutions.

For a given institution, the score of an indicator is determined by relating its value to the total value of credit institutions considered for each category in accordance with Article 3 of this Instruction. The score at the criterion level is obtained by calculating the weighted average of the indicators that compose it.

The global score of a credit institution is the weighted average of the scores obtained at the level of all criteria.

Article 6:

For each category of systemically important credit institutions referred to in Article 3 of this Instruction, the Central Bank of Congo sets a global score level considered as the systemic importance threshold.

Any institution whose global score is equal to or greater than this threshold is considered systemic.

The Central Bank of Congo may decide, based on expert judgment, to include a credit institution in the category of systemically important institutions even if its global score is below the systemic importance threshold.

MCM

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TITLE III: SUPPLEMENTARY PRUDENTIAL MEASURES APPLICABLE TO SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT CREDIT INSTITUTIONS

Article 7:

Systemically important credit institutions must build an additional capital cushion aimed at reducing their risk of failure given their importance to the national economy.

For banks, this cushion is composed exclusively of common equity and equivalent elements as defined in Instruction No. 14 of the Central Bank of Congo on prudential management standards. It is built in addition to the conservation and countercyclical buffers applicable to all banks.

For other credit institutions and financial companies, this cushion is composed of basic equity elements as defined by the prudential standards regulation applicable to them.

Article 8:

The additional capital cushion provided for in Article 7 is fixed as follows:

• for banks: 1% of net risk-weighted assets as defined in Instruction No. 14 on prudential management standards;

• for other credit institutions and financial companies: 1% of net risk-weighted assets as defined by the regulation applicable to each type of credit institution.

This cushion must be built over 2 years, starting from the notification of the institution as systemic, i.e., 0.5% per year.

Article 9:

The Central Bank of Congo may impose supplementary prudential measures on systemically important credit institutions, in addition to the capital cushion mentioned in Articles 7 and 8 of this Instruction, which may notably cover:

• the liquidity ratio up to 50 percentage points higher than the standard set by current regulations;

• the leverage ratio;

• stricter standards regarding risk diversification;

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• conditions for evaluating collateral securing granted loans;
• restrictions on dividend distribution;
• any other measure aimed at safeguarding financial stability.

TITLE IV: FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 10:

The Central Bank of Congo, through its Directorate responsible for the supervision of financial intermediaries, draws up once a year, based on data certified as of December 31 of the previous year or relating to the previous fiscal year, the list of systemically important credit institutions. This list may be modified during the year depending on the evolution of a credit institution, notably following a merger operation.

The Central Bank of Congo notifies this decision to the concerned institutions.

The list of systemically important credit institutions as well as the threshold provided for in Article 6 of this Instruction are published on the official website of the Central Bank of Congo.

Article 11:

Failure by the institutions referred to in Article 2 to comply with the provisions of Title III of this Instruction exposes the offenders to the sanctions provided for by the legal and regulatory provisions in this matter.

Article 12:

This Instruction enters into force on the date of its signature and repeals all prior provisions contrary to it.

Done in Kinshasa, on JUNE 6, 2025

MALANGU KABEDI MBUYI
Governor

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Annex 1.

Identification criteria for systemically important banks

Criteria	Indicators	Weighting
Size	Total Assets	20 %
	Off-balance sheet elements adjusted with conversion factors into credit equivalents in accordance with Instruction No. 14 on prudential management standards	10 %
Interconnection	Exposures to the financial sector	15 %
	Liabilities vis-à-vis the financial sector	15 %
Complexity	Securities held for trading	10 %
Substitutability	Total deposits received from clients	7.5 %
	Total loans granted to clients	7.5 %
	Transaction flows passing through payment systems	7.5 %
	Value of securities held in custody	7.5 %

Annex 2: Identification criteria for other systemically important credit institutions

Criteria	Indicators	Weighting
Size	Total Assets	40 %
Interconnection	Exposures to the financial sector	15 %
	Liabilities vis-à-vis the financial sector	15 %
Substitutability	Total deposits received from clients	10 %
	Total loans granted to clients	10 %
	Transaction flows passing through payment systems	10 %

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