(Business in Cameroon) - The French banking group Banque populaire Caisse d'épargne (BPCE), announced September 24 in Paris that it will sell its shares in Cameroon’s International Bank of Savings and Credit (BICEC) to the Moroccan group People's Central Bank (BCP).
The transaction’s completion is subject to required approvals and authorizations. Once completed, the Moroccan banking group will hold the 68.5% shares BPCE has in BICEC.
“We are looking for a partner who already knows Africa very well and has an African development project,” said Jean Pierre Levayer, Managing Director of BPCE International. The Moroccan group which fits this profile well will therefore become a market competitor for its compatriot Attijariwafa Bank which controls Société commerciale de banque au Cameroun (SCB Cameroun), the country's 4th largest bank.
Let’s note that BPCE also holds 4.5% shares in the Moroccan BCP. The latter is a shareholder of the Ivorian group Banque Atlantique which owns a subsidiary in Cameroon. Cameroon’s International Bank of Savings and Credit (BICEC) is the 3rd largest operator in the Cameroonian banking sector behind Afriland First Bank and Société générale.
Brice R. Mbodiam