The Cameroonian Public Treasury raised FCFA 144.25 billion (approximately $235 million USD) on the public securities market of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) on March 30, 2026. This operation, carried out through the issuance of fungible Treasury bonds (OTA) with maturities ranging from 2 to 6 years, initially aimed to raise FCFA 150 billion.
The fundraising was carried out through domestic syndication, a mechanism approved by BEAC in 2021. This system allows a State to issue public securities through a group of Treasury specialist firms (SVT) formed into a syndicate, with a lead manager. For this operation, the syndicate was led by SCB Cameroon, a local subsidiary of the Moroccan group Attijariwafa Bank, and also included the banks Société Générale and Ecobank.
The March 30 operation is part of the forecast schedule of Treasury operations that Cameroon plans to carry out on the BEAC market during the second quarter of 2026. According to the document published by the BEAC, the Cameroonian government plans to borrow a total of FCFA 580 billion on this market during this period. This amount is equivalent to approximately $1.02 billion USD.
Specifically, the Cameroonian government plans to raise FCFA 160 billion in April 2026, FCFA 155 billion in May, and FCFA 265 billion in June. These borrowings will be made through issues of fungible Treasury bills (BTA), with maturities of 13 to 52 weeks, and OTAs, with maturities ranging from 2 to 15 years. The schedule indicates a preference for BTAs, particularly in June (FCFA 195 billion out of 265 billion) and in April (FCFA 95 billion out of 160 billion).
BTAs are generally used to manage short-term cash needs, such as paying salaries or invoices. OTAs, on the other hand, are used to finance longer-term development projects. The Ministry of Finance's current strategy often involves issuing new BTAs to repay maturing debts, thus preserving state revenue for other priorities. However, this approach increases the country's dependence on short-term refinancing and may indicate strains on the State's cash flow.
Cameroon started 2026 with favorable momentum in the BEAC public securities market. In January 2026, the average subscription rate for BTAs issued by the country was 84.84%, an increase of 25.7% compared to December 2025. The country plans to issue FCFA 580 billion in public securities in the second quarter of 2026.
