The jobs of decentralized financial systems (DFS) of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) covered by Article 44 of the law regulating DFS (activity level reaching a threshold of 2 billion CFA francs in deposits and loans) increased by 10.3% at the end of 2024 compared to 2023, reaching 2,813.1 billion CFA francs (5.063 billion dollars), according to data from the General Secretariat of the Banking Commission, the community supervisory body based in Abidjan.
These jobs consist of loans (short, medium, and long-term loans, leasing operations) and other assets (investment securities, financial assets, other assets, and miscellaneous).
According to the Banking Commission, customer loans represent 82.7% compared to 82.6% in 2023. As for financial assets, they accounted for 2.8% of jobs in 2024 compared to 3.5% a year earlier. The share of other assets stands at 14.5% compared to 14.0% in 2023.
Customer loans increased by 10.5% annually to reach 2,327.1 billion CFA francs at the end of 2024 compared to 2,106.4 billion CFA francs in 2023. Short-term loans, amounting to 1,058.0 billion CFA francs (45.5% of total loans), increased by 6.5% over the year. Medium-term loans, representing 33.1% of the total loan portfolio, amounted to 770.7 billion CFA francs during the period under review, a 7.5% increase. Long-term loans, growing by 13.0% annually, amounted to 356.8 billion CFA francs at the end of 2024, accounting for 15.3% of all loans.
Investment securities amounted to 38.0 billion CFA francs at the end of 2024 compared to 26.1 billion CFA francs in 2023, an increase of 45.4% over the period.
Financial assets, on the other hand, decreased by 10.9% over the year, amounting to 78.6 billion CFA francs in 2024. Other assets increased by 14.8% annually, reaching 182.8 billion CFA francs in 2024 compared to 159.3 billion CFA francs a year earlier. Miscellaneous assets (related receivables, inventory accounts, various debtors, order accounts, etc.) increased by 9.5% in 2024, amounting to 186.6 billion CFA francs.
Regarding the quality of the portfolio, data from the Banking Commission indicate that by the end of 2024, “the amount of gross non-performing loans of large DFS increased by 81.7% annually, reaching 172.1 billion CFA francs by the end of 2024.” Net non-performing loans, amounting to 141.3 billion CFA francs compared to 80.3 billion CFA francs a year earlier, recorded an increase of 75.9%.
The level of provisioning for non-performing loans stood at 8.5% compared to 13.2% in 2023. The gross and net portfolio degradation rates stood at 6.6% and 6.1% respectively during the period under review, compared to 4.4% and 3.8% in 2023. By country, large DFS in Togo show the highest credit portfolio degradation, followed by those in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. The rates in these countries are 8.8%, 7.7%, and 6.8% respectively.
Based on the accounting data received by the Banking Commission for the years 2022 and 2023, the number of DFS covered by Article 44 (large DFS) increased by 25 units, reaching 286 microfinance institutions by the end of December 2024. These large DFS are divided into 125 networks and unitary institutions and 161 base caisses affiliated with a network, established in seven of the eight UMOA states. The networks and unitary institutions include companies, associations, networks, and non-affiliated Mutual or Cooperative Savings and Credit Institutions (IMCEC).
