(Business in Cameroon) - Between February 2019 and February 2020, Cameroon’s money stock increased by 14.3%, from CFAF4,897.5 billion to CFAF5,598.7 billion. According to the Ministry in charge of Economy, which revealed the information, this increase was driven by a rise in its counterparts (credits to the economy, foreign assets, and net claims on the State).

Credits to the economy rose from CFAF3342.2 billion in February 2019 to CFAF337.1billion in February 2020, representing a 1.0%  year-on-year increase. This subdued growth in credits to the economy was largely due to a slight increase in the commitments of the non-financial private sector and non-bank financial institutions.

Year-on-year, Cameroon's net foreign assets increased by 32.9% to 2,725.1 billion in February 2020. The increase in these external assets observed in 2020 is mainly the result of budgetary support obtained from the World Bank, the French Development Agency, and the European Union following the conclusion of the 2017-2019 economic and financial programme with the IMF.

As far as net claims on the state are concerned, the government and its related institutions’ net position, vis-à-vis the banking system, increased by CFAF373.1 billion (from CFAF487.2 billion in February 2019 to CFAF860.3 billion in February 2020). Similarly, the treasury’s net position vis-à-vis the banking system increased by 65.8% from CFAF541.9 billion to CFAF898.5 billion at the end of February 2020. These developments can be explained by the continued implementation of infrastructure development programmes and the modernization of the production apparatus."

Bank deposits and currency in circulation increased by 10.3% and 15.1% respectively. For its part, bank liquidity deteriorated slightly since the liquidity ratio (bank reserves/deposits) fell from 26.1% on February 28, 2019, to 25.6% on February 29, 2020. The share of deposits in the money supply rose by 3.3 percentage points (10.8% to 14.1%) between February 2019 and February 2020. Also, that of currency in circulation increased by 5.7 percentage points, from 9.3% to 15% during the said period.

S.A.