The overall resources mobilized by the banking sector of the West African Monetary Union (Umoa) consolidated by 11.4% to stand at 33,129.6 billion FCfa in 2019, informs the latest annual report of the Banking Commission of Umoa posted on the Bceao website on September 22.

They consist of 84.0% of customer deposits and loans, an increase of 10.8%. With regard to shareholders' equity and similar resources, which represent 11.2% of overall resources, they were increased by 519.4 billion FCfa, an increase of 16.2%.

The balance sheet total of credit institutions in operation stood at CFAF 41,258.6 billion, an increase of 9.6% compared to 2018. As for the net banking income (GNP), it increased by 4.3 % to 2,057.2 billion FCfa in 2019.

And the gross operating profit stands at 801.1 billion FCfa, or 11.2%. The net result, standing at 542.2 billion FCfa, increased by 42.9% compared to 2018. The net cost/income ratio stood at 65.3% against 68.0% in 2018.

In addition, the overall average solvency ratio of credit institutions in the Union stood at 11.6% in 2019, above the minimum standard of 9.5% required at the end of 2019, and against 10.8% in 2018.

Twelve in number in activity as of December 31, 2019, the financial companies of UMOA recorded a balance sheet total of 29,164.8 billion FCfa, up 4.3% on an annual basis.

For their part, Sfds (decentralized financial systems), whose number increased from 158 to 174 between 2018 and 2019, posted a total balance sheet of 2,083.5 billion FCfa, up 9.3% compared to end of 2018.

The average capitalization ratio of these Sfds stood at 19.9% in 2019 against 19.3% in 2018, for a minimum standard of 15%.

Finally, with regard to electronic money institutions, their number stood at ten in 2019 compared to eight the previous year. The number of accounts opened stands at 50,336,223, of which 48.2% are active accounts.

Transactions carried out through mobile telephony involved a volume of 2,406,937,675 operations for a total amount of FCfa 26,097 billion at the end of 2019.