On May 12, 2026, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) injected 364.2 billion FCFA into banks in the CEMAC zone, which includes Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and the Central African Republic. The aim of this operation is to stimulate credit activity in the region.
The BEAC's liquidity injection is a response to the financing needs of commercial banks, which can be interpreted as a positive sign for the credit market. Banks tend to turn to the central bank when their customers' financing demands exceed their own cash reserves.
However, the total amount requested by the banks during this operation remained below the BEAC's offer. The central bank had initially made available a package of 550 billion FCFA, but only 66.2% of this amount was taken up.
This contrasts with the second half of 2025, when the banks' demand largely exceeded the BEAC's offer. In response to this strong demand, the central bank had gradually increased the envelope made available to credit institutions, reaching a record level of 800 billion FCFA.
Although demand for bank credit in the CEMAC zone has remained strong since the beginning of 2026, it appears to be less vigorous than in the second half of 2025. In March 2026, BEAC increased its liquidity offer to CFA400 billion after bank demand exceeded the previous offer of CFA350 billion. Bankers generally believe that the use of central bank funding increases when loan demand exceeds available cash reserves.
In April 2026, the BEAC reduced its liquidity injection to 450 billion FCFA, even though bank demand had increased sharply, exceeding the central bank's offer by 26 billion FCFA. This fluctuation underscores the volatility of liquidity demand in the CEMAC banking system.
