Togo: In 2021, private banks loaned CFA1,425 billion to the private sector, up 9% y/y

Banking
Thursday, 07 April 2022 12:31
Togo: In 2021, private banks loaned CFA1,425 billion to the private sector, up 9% y/y

(Togo First) - Last week, during the National Credit Council (CNC), Togo’s minister of finance and economy, Sani Yaya, affirmed that bank lending in the country “strongly increased” in 2021.

Throughout the past year, Yaya said, banks loaned CFA1,425 billion to the economy, up 9% year-on-year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic consequences.  It is a “five-year breaking record,” with most of the funds going to the private sector, the official added.

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While he lauded Togolese banks’ contribution to the national economy, Yaya nevertheless asked them to lower their lending rates. Talking about their average interest rate in 2021, which was 7.6%, i.e. 0.5 percentage points higher than the sub-regional average (7.2%), the minister of economy and finance urged them to make loans more accessible, both for the good of their clients and the economy.

It should be highlighted that Togo is currently trying to contain inflation marked by the rise in prices of several consumer products, in particular, more recently energy (at the pump fuel prices). At the moment, however, it is not clear how this situation affects banking activities and the solicitation of banks by their customers.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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