(Business in Cameroon) - Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the issuing bank for CEMAC member countries, recently published its September 2021 monetary policy report. In the report, the central bank lists the five sectors that captured the highest bank loans in the subregion as of end-April 2021.

Those sectors are namely “transport and telecommunications (16.4%), community, social and personal services (16.3%), trade (wholesale and retail) and catering-hotels (15.8%), unclassified activities (8.9%) and manufacturing industries (7.6%)," the report lists.

The central bank adds that the volume of bank loans collected for miscellaneous purposes like investments and securities trading also rose by 14% to  XAF6,000 billion, against XAF5,263 billion at end-April 2020.

Overall, XAF9,189.2 billion of bank credits were granted to clients at end April 2021, up by 10.5% year-on-year, according to the BEAC. For the central bank, this upward performance reflects a slight revival of economic activities in the region, thanks to the progress made in vaccination campaigns and some restrictions taken to combat the pandemic. 

S.A.