The Bank’s activities in 2018 took place in a conducive economic and social environment. The economic dynamism that began in 2012 in the WAEMU region continued during the year, with a growth rate of 6.6 percent. This performance was driven both by the service sector (banking, trade) and by the implementation of national or regional development programmes, particularly in agricultural investment and the modernization of key infrastructure.
It is against this background that the Bank continued to support the economies by providing financing totaling XOF 426.8 billion. The loans and other assistance thus granted will foster the implementation of investment projects in various sectors, including transport infrastructure, agriculture, energy, industry and the promotion of SMEs / SMIs. Financing for the year brought the Bank’s total net commitments to XOF5,311 billion as of 31 December 2018, covering a total of 1,149 operations, with a cumulative disbursement rate of 62.3%.
In terms of resource mobilization, the investment grade rating, confirmed by Moody’s and Fitch, at the end of the 2018 annual review, gives the Bank access, under good conditions, to the international financial market. The Bank, nevertheless, continues to maintain fruitful cooperative relationships with its development partners. In this regard, two bilateral agreements were been signed, worth a total of US$45 million (XOF 25.4 billion). The Bank also continued to mobilize grants from international environmental funds (GEF, AF and GCF), which were used to develop and finance low-carbon and climate-change projects.
