The results of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) survey on banking conditions reveal a slight decline in lending rates in the WAEMU zone in August.

Lending rates charged by banks in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) fell by 0.01 percentage points in August 2021 compared to the previous month. According to the BCEAO, excluding charges and taxes, the lending rate in the Union stood at 6.20% in August 2021 compared to 6.21% the previous month. As for deposit rates, they stood at 5.23% in August 2021, the same level as the previous month. On the regional money market, the average amount of bids on the weekly auction window stood at CFAF 3,285.2 billion during the period under review, compared to CFAF 3,411.8 billion in July 2021, i.e., a drop of 3.71% over one month. The BCEAO points out that auctions are carried out since March 31, 2020 at a fixed rate, namely the minimum bidding rate, which was reduced from 2.50% to 2.0% as of June 24, 2020. On the WAEMU interbank market, the average weekly volume of transactions, all maturities combined, stood at CFAF 434.4 billion in August 2021, down 5.9% on July.