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Supervisory colleges

  • A Supervisory College is a cooperative framework established by the home country supervisory authority of a cross-border banking group to enhance the effectiveness of consolidated supervision, taking into fractional account its risk profile and systemic importance across its various jurisdictions of operation.
  • This framework is modeled in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in its paper titled "Principles for Effective Supervisory Colleges," published in June 2014.
  • In this regard, the General Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission established two (2) supervisory colleges in 2015 for the Ecobank and Orabank groups. The banking subsidiaries of these two (2) groups are majority-owned by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) and ORAGROUP, respectively, both of which are financial holding companies headquartered in Lomé, Togo.
  • Since their inception in 2015, these college meetings have been convened annually in a "Universal College" format.
  • The General Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission also participates in supervisory colleges organized by peer authorities overseeing cross-border banking groups with subsidiaries operating within the WAMU zone.
  • This college brings together twenty-one (21) supervisory authorities of ETI's banking subsidiaries across Africa.
  • The Ecobank Group ranks first within the Union in terms of total assets, with a network comprising thirty-three (33) banking subsidiaries in Africa and one established in France.
  • The table below outlines the countries of establishment and their corresponding supervisory authorities :
Country of Establishment Supervisory Authority
Nigeria Central Bank of Nigeria
Benin WAMU Banking Commission
Burkina Faso
Côte d'Ivoire
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Niger
Senegal
Togo
Cabo Verde Banco de Cabo Verde
Ghana Bank of Ghana
Guinea Central Bank of Guinea
Liberia Central Bank of Liberia
Sierra Leone Bank of Sierra Leone
Gambia Central Bank of The Gambia
Cameroon Central African Banking Commission (COBAC)
Chad
Central African Republic
Congo (Brazzaville)
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
São Tomé and Príncipe Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe
Rwanda National Bank of Rwanda
Kenya Central Bank of Kenya
Burundi Bank of the Republic of Burundi
Uganda Bank of Uganda
Tanzania Bank of Tanzania
Congo (DRC) Central Bank of the Congo
Malawi Reserve Bank of Malawi
Zambia Bank of Zambia
Zimbabwe Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Mozambique Banco de Moçambique
South Sudan Bank of South Sudan
  • In addition to the aforementioned entities, the group operates two representative offices in other African countries (South Africa and Ethiopia), as well as three across Europe and Asia (the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and China).
  • This supervisory college brings together four (4) supervisory authorities: the WAMU Banking Commission, the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea, and the Central Bank of Mauritania.
  • The holding company, ORAGROUP, controls seven (7) subsidiaries, including three (3) within the WAMU zone (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, and Togo). The Côte d'Ivoire subsidiary operates branches in five (5) other member states of the Union (Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, and Senegal).
  • In total, the group is present in twelve (12) African countries, encompassing the eight (8) WAMU member states, two (2) CEMAC jurisdictions (Gabon and Chad), Guinea, and Mauritania.
  • The WAMU Banking Commission also participates in the supervisory colleges of ten (10) foreign banking groups with subsidiaries operating within the Union. These banking groups and their respective home supervisors are detailed below :
Banking Group Home Supervisory Authority
Standard Bank Group South African Reserve Bank
BANK OF AFRICA (BOA) Group / BMCE Bank Al-Maghrib (Morocco)
Groupe Banque Centrale Populaire
Attijariwafa Bank
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Central Bank of Nigeria
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank)
First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Group
Afriland First Bank Group Central African Banking Commission (COBAC)
BGFIBank Group
Standard Chartered Bank Prudential Regulation Authority (United Kingdom)
December 16 and 17, 2025

151st Session of the Banking Commission Supervisory Board of the WAMU