The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) — the central bank shared by the six CEMAC countries using the CFA franc: Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville — has announced an easing of its monetary policy following the regular session of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held on Monday 29 June.
The Bank decided to cut the interest rate on tender offers by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 4.50 % from 4.75 % previously. The marginal lending facility rate — the rate at which commercial banks refinance with the central bank — fell more sharply, by 50 basis points, to 5.75 %.
Reserve requirement ratios were also eased: the ratio applied to sight deposits drops from 7 % to 6.50 %, and the one on term liabilities from 4.5 % to 4 %. The Committee, however, chose to keep the deposit facility rate at 0 %.
BEAC justifies this easing by "the containment of inflationary pressures and a moderate improvement in foreign exchange reserves." Its forecasts point to average inflation of 2.4 % this year — below the community threshold of 3 % — after 2.1 % in 2025, while the budget deficit excluding grants is expected to narrow from 3.7 % of GDP in 2025 to 1.9 % in 2026.
Official reserve assets — foreign currency, short-term investments, gold and IMF special drawing rights — are expected to reach the equivalent of 4.72 months of imports, up from 4.12 months a year earlier. The external coverage ratio of the currency is expected to reach 70.7 % by the end of 2026, up from 65.2 % in 2025, while economic growth is projected at 3.2 %, slightly down from 3.4 % in 2025.
For CEMAC states, this rate cut is in theory welcome: it should gradually ease the cost of financing on the regional public securities market and give banks more liquidity to support lending to businesses. Whether it actually feeds through to the real economy remains, as is often the case, uncertain.
Source: Afrimag (June 2026). Our teams track regional monetary policy developments to support clients who are residents or investors in the CEMAC zone with their financing and allocation decisions.