The 5th edition of the meetings between the General Secretariat of the WAEMU Banking Commission (SCGB), the General Managers and the Statutory Auditors of credit institutions and financial companies was held, for the first time in virtual format, on November 25 and 26, 2020.

The meeting with the General Managers of credit institutions and financial companies, organized on November 25, 2020, brought together two hundred and one (201) participants. The opening ceremony was chaired by Mr. Tiémoko Meyliet KONE, Governor of the BCEAO, President of the Banking Commission. In his speech, the Governor emphasized the resilience of the Union's banking sector in the face of the crisis, as well as the support and measures taken by the Central Bank, which made it possible to limit its impact. He also called on the banking profession to preserve its achievements by strengthening solvency and improving risk management, particularly credit and operational risks.

Under the leadership of Mr. Antoine TRAORE, Secretary General of the Banking Commission, discussions with the banking profession focused mainly on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the banking system as well as on regulatory developments, in particular the revision of the transitional period of the Prudential Mechanism, the obligations of Systemically Important Banking Institutions (EBIS) as well as the outline of the preventive recovery plan for entities subject to the control of the Banking Commission. Appropriate responses were provided to the various concerns expressed by the banking profession.

Closing this meeting on behalf of the Governor, Chairman of the Banking Commission, the Secretary General of the Banking Commission recalled the expectations of the regulator and the supervisor vis-à-vis the players in the banking system, in terms of sound management of the credit portfolio and control of operational risks exacerbated in times of crisis.

The meeting with the Statutory Auditors (CAC) of credit institutions and financial companies was held on November 26, 2020, under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of the Banking Commission. It was attended by one hundred and thirty-eight (138) external auditors.

The discussions focused mainly on recent developments in banking regulations. In this regard, the CACs mainly requested clarifications on the implementation by credit institutions of the deferral of due date system and the preventive recovery plan. In addition, they wanted to have a platform for sharing information relating, on the one hand, to new developments in banking supervision and, on the other hand, to responses to the various requests for interpretation of the regulations made by the profession.

At the end of the discussions, the Secretary General of the Banking Commission reiterated the availability of the Supervisory Authority to continue discussions with the CACs, which constitute an essential link in the system for monitoring institutions.