(Business in Cameroon) - In Cameroon, credit institutions are bracing for the possible impacts of the coronavirus on Cameroon’s economy. In a release published on March 20, 2020, the association of credit institutions operating in Cameroon Apeccam formulated a set of measures banks should take to face the consequences of the virus on the country’s economy.

In the release, the association asked its members to be responsive to the demands of traders and companies that are complaining about their operations. The members are also asked to provide liquidities to support clients’ companies and grant and maintain credit to economic agents, notably, SMEs/SMBs that “may face challenges because of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.”

The Apeccam also invites its members to consider, with clients, conventional renegotiation of bank credits to “support economic agents that may need renegotiations for their repayment schedule.”

The Apeccam also estimates that to alleviate the economic shock on companies, it is useful to "defer companies’ credit repayments for a fixed period, which must not exceed one year initially, by agreement between the parties.” 

The credit institutions are also invited to remove the penalties and additional costs of deferrals and “sensitize clients on the use of digital technology to reduce” their frequency at bank counters.

Brice R. Mbodiam