Thus, from April 2, it informed the banks and the public that, within the framework of the implementation
support for businesses that are having difficulty repaying their loans, due to
of the crisis linked to the coronavirus, it authorized credit institutions to classify sound debts,
whose due dates have been postponed due to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, in an account
specific within the category of healthy debts and not in that of bad debts.
However, despite the battery of measures that the issuing institution has taken and continues to take, we have
noted on the market, a certain slowness of the banks in the implementation of the extensions of maturities of
customer loans related to some misunderstandings and concerns.
Is it for them a problem of rhythm to follow the pace set by the Bceao, which responds
today to all the expectations placed in it?
Or is it a veiled refusal to grant deferrals free of charge, because deferring a deadline is a
restructuring of a financial debt and therefore consists for the credit institution of temporarily renouncing
a cash inflow (capital and interest) which, given its considerable volume, now contributes to
weaken monetary liquidity in circulation, or even dry it up? Usual reluctance of banks? The
question arises.
A small calculation shows that it is a shortfall of more than 1300 billion FCFA for a
suspension of 3-month installment payments at the level of Senegalese banks, and more than 100
billion for Decentralized Financial Systems (DFS).
Another gray area is the modus operandi that will be used by credit institutions to collect and process
loan deferral requests.
In the context of confinement, the request to be dealt with “on a case-by-case basis” could further create an influx
customers in agencies. A “case by case” which could take a long time and be detrimental
to people impacted by Covid-19 and who have the “right to postponement” from the end of the month.
What internal system should banks and SFDs use to combine urgency and efficiency if we know
that almost a quarter of the portfolio of banks and DFS (1 million out of 4 million) is affected by these
postponement measures? Do they currently have it?
Be that as it may, Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo, national director of Bceao Senegal was quick to react by
telling the banks what to do.
In a document sent to the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (Apbef)
and of which the Senegalese economy newspaper (Lejecos) had a copy, Mr. Lo, notes on four points, the process
that banks must follow as part of the implementation of the Covid-19 support system
set up by the BCEAO.
The first point concerns the consideration of individual customers in addition to companies in the system
Covid-19 support.

On this question, Mr. Lo indicates that the Bceao gives the possibility to credit institutions of the Union,
to grant the deferral of maturities for loans granted to employees in the private sector, as well as to companies
individuals affected by the health crisis for a period of three months renewable once.
However, he specifies, employees who will continue to receive all of their income should be
excluded from the benefit of this measure.
The second point concerns the methods of application of the measure of exemption from charges. For it,
Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo invites credit institutions to grant a deferral of capital and interest due
on the due date.
“This deferral does not constitute a waiver of the debt, neither in capital nor in interest. This is for the
credit institutions to stop the course of interest and to wait for their customers concerned to return to
a better fortune to be able to resume repayments.
The BCEAO will carefully ensure that the postponement of the due date does not generate additional costs in
interest, fees or late payment penalties for the customer”, indicates the national director of the Bceao.
In the third point, the national director of the BCEAO defines the scope of the companies concerned by
the measure of carryover. The companies concerned by the postponement measures are only the companies
affected by the pandemic.
In this respect, it is up to the credit institutions to assess the situation of their business customers who
request an extension of deadlines, based in particular on information relating to their sector
of activities and the impact of the crisis on their financial situation", informs Mr. Lo.
Finally, in the fourth point, he talks about the possibility of systematic refinancing at the marginal window to
all the facilities granted under the Covid-19 system.
On this point, the Bceao points out that it has already taken far-reaching measures for the access of
credit institutions to liquidity in the context of mitigating the effects of the pandemic.
However, particular situations could be examined by the services of the issuing institution.
In this regard, in the event that the crisis situation persists and a credit institution that has granted
maturity extension facilities would be faced with access constraints to the refinancing windows of the
Bceao related to the unavailability of collateral or saturation of its refinancing quota, the Bank
central could, on a case-by-case basis, take the necessary measures", explains Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo.