To guarantee stability: African banking supervisors concert on emerging challenges.

This is the focus of the annual conference of CABS which took place in Yaounde Wednesday. CABS organised the gathering alongside the Technical Group of the Association of Africa Central Banks, AACB; the Financial Stability Institute, FSI, of the Bank of International Settlement, BIS.

The Bank of Central African States, BEAC, and the Central African Banking  Commission, COBAC, served as host of the exchanges.  BEAC Governor, Yvon Sana Bangui, opened discussions in his capacity of president of AACB.

Sana Bangui underscored the need for African banking supervisors to up their knowhow to better deal with “emerging risks”. 

He noted that Africa must adjust its banking supervision mechanism to stay relevant and resilient given the complex global hurdles while upholding standards.

African central banks and regulators, he was firm, must rise to the  billing in dealing with the “…rise of systemic risks, the acceleration of financial digitalisation, the development of cross-border banking groups, as well as the emergence of new cyber and climate risks”.

The AACB boss lauded issues addressed such as stablecoins, Artificial Intelligence, AI, digital fraud and cybersecurity as imperative for central banks and supervisors to address. 

This, Sana Bangui noted, is imperative to guarantee the stability of Africa’s financial systems.

He reminded participants that: “The global economy continues to face the consequences of geopolitical tensions, geo-economic fragmentation, the tightening of international financial conditions, as well as the effects of technological changes that are gradually reshaping the economic models of financial institutions”.

Proactive supervision

He called for proactive banking supervision with more emphasis on risk management, modernisation to prevent crises. 

Sana Bangui rated the Yaounde exchanges as a platform to drive convergence of African banking supervisors with an eye on the continent’s financial uniqueness ad economic realities.

In this age, he argued that protecting financial services, consumers among others requires constant exchanges to arrive at collective efforts.

The BEAC Governor cited the example of who the Central Bank is working with COBAC. He mentioned the 2025-2029 OWALI scheme geared towards making COBAC "a proactive supervisor for better resilience of the CEMAC banking system".

He explained that it co-opts new technology, climate risks, macro-stress test exercises to prevent and manage crises. 

Looking at the Continent, he was positive that base on exchanges African banking supervisors will henceforth, “…better anticipate the implications of technological innovations, notably in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, crypto assets, digital payments, and cybersecurity”.

New opportunity

Through AACBS current mandate under his leadership, and CABS, Sana Bangui, said Africa, “…has an opportunity to build modern, resilient, and inclusive financial systems capable of sustainably supporting the Continent's economic transformation”.

He insisted that “developing the capacities of supervisors” remains constant work in progress.

Lessons from COBAC

Speaking during yesterday’s conference, CABS president, Patricia Danille Manon, who is also the Assistant Secretary General of COBAC, made a strong case for continental cooperation among banking supervisors.

Manon remarked that: “COBAC attaches particular importance to the development of relations with its African and international counterparts”. 

She mentioned partnerships with several supervisory institutions across the Continent as the way to go. Manon cited the Banking Commission of the West African Banking Union, Central Bank of Congo, Banking and Financial Supervision Commission of the Central Bank of Madagascar, Bank Al-Maghrib, the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Central Bank of Nigeria as good examples.

The deals, she disclosed, have made experience and information sharing with a keen eye on cross-border banking groups. The Executive Secretary of the CABS, Dr Joulassi Koukou Aloufade, noted that such meetings are vital in shaping the future of banking supervision in Africa. 

Quality supervision, he averred is critical in aspects such as debt management. He also drummed proper coordination and surveillance, corroborating other speakers that the move is key to ensuring financial stability.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3807 of Thursday June 04, 2026