During a virtual press conference, Friday, May 29, following the bank's balance sheet conference which took place two days before through a webinar, the deputy general manager of the Bank Of Africa (Boa) group, Abderrazzak Zebdani, believes that there is no notable impact due to the Covid 19 crisis to be deplored in most BOA subsidiaries at the end of the first quarter of 2020. “The indicators (either activity or profitability) are in line with budget forecasts established in 2019,” remarked the Deputy Director General.

Indeed, the group's managers have displayed their optimism for the future of their activities but seem tormented by the "commissions" section given that with the closure of borders, sub-regional and international trade, transfers abroad and transactions will experience slowdowns. "The effect is also starting to be felt in this commission section," acknowledges Abderrazzak Zebdani.

For the Deputy Managing Director, who had by his side Laura Tran, Director of Investments and Stéphane Carrer, Director of Communications, the health situation is not at the same level in most of the countries where the bank is represented, which complicates further their roadmap. Because, “instead of having a uniform business continuity plan for all countries, it had to be modulated at several levels according to the health situation of each country”.

The group also announces the implementation of a real production and collection tool for the management of collection, which was previously deemed inefficient with outdated procedures. “We have formed a new team with new procedures and a review of the profile of bankers added to some sales people to take charge of collection. Which requires collection agents to provide advice and solutions to allow their customers to have several pallets in the reimbursement”, underlines Abderrazzak Zebdani.

Contrasting results

In terms of figures, the various WAEMU zone subsidiaries of BMCE Bank Of Africa, renamed Bank Of Africa, presented rather contrasting results in 2019. Thus, BOA Benin, the leading bank in the eponymous country in terms of credit and deposits, with a total balance of 920.8 billion FCFA, down -2.7% presents a NBI up by 5.1% to 41.3 billion FCFA for a net result of 15 billion FCFA, up 17%. This good result is not correlated with the evolution of the title at the BRVM in depreciation of 14% more accentuated than that of the financial sector (-9.46%).

For its part, BOA Burkina Faso improved its main aggregates. The balance sheet total stands at 867.2 billion FCFA, up 7.3%. The NBI evolves in the same proportion to settle at 42.7 billion FCFA. Ditto for the net result, up 7% to 18.15 billion FCFA. At the BRVM, the title BOA Burkina Faso fell by 27.1%. The Bank nevertheless remains on a rather profitable ROE of 25.1% given the banking averages of other regions.

Also a subsidiary of BOA West Africa, the BOA Côte d'Ivoire structure saw its total balance sheet crumble by 2.5% to 608.5 billion CFA francs while its NBI increased by 7.7% to 35.3 billion. of FCFA boosted by the sharp increase in commissions and its net income rose by 22% to 14.3 billion FCFA. At the BRVM, the title BOA Côte d'Ivoire limits the damage to a drop of 4.9%. The ROE stands at 29.2%, which again shows a rather profitable profile.

In Niger, the local subsidiary increased its total balance sheet by 8.2% to 343.9 billion FCFA. GNP rose by 13% to 23.4 billion FCFA for a net result of 8.5 billion FCFA. The first bank in Niger in terms of loans, second in terms of deposits, recorded a strong increase in the banking margin but a rather moderate increase in the commission. At the BRVM, the BOA Niger share depreciated by 13% in 2018.

For its part, BOA Senegal recorded an 8% increase in its total balance sheet established at 535 billion FCFA. The financial year is characterized by a strong increase (+20%) of the NBI to 30 billion FCFA in contrast with the 7% growth of the net profit (9.1 billion FCFA). At the BRVM, the title suffered a drop of -23.5%, bringing the PER to 4.1x. The return on investment (ROE) is there too, with a rate of 22.4%, above the banking average.

In Mali, the BOA subsidiary saw its total balance sheet increase by 12.6% to 577.3 billion FCFA for a net income up 7.8% to 32 billion FCFA. Only problem, a net result plummeting by 210% to -6.7 billion FCFA. The bad improvement degrades equity by 15% to a level of 26.3 billion FCFA. It should be noted that significant downgrades of files have affected the margin, indicates the group. Despite the increase in the margin on commissions (+23%, particularly on foreign exchange transactions), the sharp reduction in expenses (the cost/income ratio is reduced to 71%), BOA Mali saw its results weighed down by a exceptionally high level of provisions for risk (17 billion FCFA of receivables downgraded to doubtful and litigious receivables (CDL) of which 75% on 5 files), despite better recovery performance than the previous year. At the BRVM, the title has lost more than half of its value (-53.1%), a sanction that is altogether logical.

A digital transformation underway

During a webinar organized by the Bank of Africa (Boa) group on Friday, May 29, the Deputy Managing Director of the Bank Of Africa (Boa) group, Abderrazzak Zebdani, argued that the digital transformation strategy launched in 2015- 2016 is bearing fruit in the era of Covid 19.

Indeed, with the Coronavirus crisis and its corollary of barrier measures, limitation of travel and distancing, the internet application and the mobile application achieve a high number of subscriptions for consultation or to carry out operations. “We are in the process of enriching these two applications with new submissions in order to make life even easier for our customers,” rejoices the deputy general manager of the Bank Of Africa (Boa) group.

This performance also testifies to the number of accounts of the group which has greatly exceeded the bar of four (4) million. “The report of the banking commission within UEMOA places our group in first place in terms of accounts with a market share that exceeds 17%. We are second in terms of network market share for vending machines with a market share of 10% and third in the context of total balance with 10% market share,” says Abderrazzak Zebdani.

In view of this significant increase in the number of subscriptions, the group is considering switching to a convergence of these tools in order to have a single digital channel before the end of 2020. "The crisis is forcing us to think more quickly and broadly", maintains Stéphane Carrer, communication director of the banking group.