Central Bank of West African States

Central Bank of West African States
The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
The BCEAO is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
History
In 1955, the French government transferred the note-issuance privilege for its West African colonies, hitherto held by the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale, to a newly created entity based in Paris, the . In 1959, the institution's name was changed to BCEAO.
The treaty establishing the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) was signed on and gave BCEAO the exclusive right to issue currency as the common central bank for the, then, seven member countries: Ivory Coast, Dahomey (later renamed Benin), Haute-Volta (later renamed Burkina Faso), Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. The statutes of the bank were subsequently approved in November 1962 and remained essentially unchanged until 1974, providing for dominant French influence over the BCEAO's governance.
On June 30, 1962, Mali left the group and adopted the Malian franc as national currency. On December 17, 1963, Togo officially joined the UMOA. On May 30, 1973, Mauritania withdrew and adopted the ouguiya as national currency. On February 17, 1984, Mali re-joined the UMOA. Guinea-Bissau joined the group in 1997.
In 1975, the BCEAO was led for the first time by an African Governor, Ivorian Abdoulaye Fadiga. It remained headquartered in Paris until mid-1978, when its head office was relocated to Dakar. The Dakar headquarters was formally inaugurated on .
Banking supervision
In 1989, BCEAO Governor Alassane Ouattara promoted the creation of a single banking supervisory authority for the entire West African Monetary Union, in a context of banking sector fragility in West Africa and widespread supervisory failure by the then-existing national banking commissions of the individual UMOA member states.
The Banking Commission was established by an international convention signed by the participating governments in Ouagadougou on , complemented by a bilateral agreement between the BCEAO and Ivory Coast on to establish the Commission in Abidjan with appropriate privileges and immunities.
The Governor of the BCEAO acts as Chairman of the Banking Commission, whose operations are led by a Secretary-General based in Abidjan.
Member states
Buildings
The BCEAO has a main branch, known as agency, in the largest city of each of the member states, whose building typically dominates the local skyline. In Dakar, the BCEAO's headquarters is in a high-rise building separate from the agency for Senegal. In addition, the BCEAO has branches in Parakou (Benin), Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Abengourou, Bouaké, Daloa, Korhogo, Man and San-Pédro (Côte d'Ivoire), Mopti and Sikasso (Mali), Maradi and Zinder (Niger), Kaolack and Ziguinchor (Senegal), and Kara (Togo). In Paris, the BCEAO maintains a representative office in its former headquarters building at 29, rue du Colisée.
Leadership
Robert Julienne, a French national, was chief executive of the , then of the BCEAO from 1955 to 1974, after which the bank's head held the title of Governor.
Governor
, 1975-1988
Alassane Ouattara, 1988-1990
Charles Konan Banny, 1990-2005
, 2006-2008
, 2008-2011
Jean-Baptiste Compaoré, 2011
Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, 2011-2022
Jean-Claude Brou, 2022-
Secretary-General of the Banking Commission
Djibril Sakho, October 1990 - October 1993
Marcel Kodjo, October 1993 - September 1998
Emmanuel Nana, September 1998 - February 2003
Mamadou Diop, February 2003 - January 2007
Eric Ekue, January 2007 - January 2009
Charles Luanga Ki-Zerbo, January 2009 - January 2012
Sanou Bolo, January 2012 - December 2014
Sena Elda Kpotsra, January 2015 - December 2019
Antoine Traore, since December 2019
See also
Economy of Benin
Economy of Burkina Faso
Economy of Guinea-Bissau
Economy of Ivory Coast
Economy of Mali
Economy of Niger
Economy of Senegal
Economy of Togo
Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale
Central banks and currencies of Africa
List of central banks
References
External links
Official site:
West African Economic and Monetary Union
Banks of Benin
Banks of Burkina Faso
Banks of Ivory Coast
Banks of Guinea-Bissau
Banks of Mali
Banks of Niger
Banks of Senegal
Banks of Togo
Banks established in 1959