Central Bank of West African States

History

In 1955, the French government transferred the note-issuance privilege for its West African colonies, hitherto held by the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale, to a newly created entity based in Paris,

The treaty establishing the West African Monetary Union was signed on and gave BCEAO the exclusive right to issue currency as the common central bank for the, then, seven member countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Dahomey (later renamed Benin), Haute-Volta (later renamed Burkina Faso), Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. The statutes of the bank were subsequently approved in November 1962 and remained essentially unchanged until 1974, providing for dominant French influence over the BCEAO's governance.

On , Mali left the group and adopted the Malian franc as national currency. On , Togo officially joined the UMOA. On , Mauritania withdrew and adopted the ouguiya as national currency. On , Mali re-joined the UMOA. Guinea-Bissau joined the group in 1997.

In 1975, the BCEAO was led for the first time by an African Governor, Ivorian Abdoulaye Fadiga. It remained headquartered in Paris until mid-1978, when its head office was relocated to Dakar. The Dakar headquarters was formally inaugurated on . In 1994, the UMOA framework was reformed and rebranded as UEMOA.

The BCEAO's statutes were amended in 2010 to grant it greater independence from member states.

In August 2025, the BCEAO announced the launch of the E-CFA, and the creation of an instant payment platform called "Pi-Spi".

Banking Commission

Main article: Banking Commission of the West African Monetary Union

In 1989, BCEAO Governor Alassane Ouattara promoted the creation of a single banking supervisory authority for the entire West African Monetary Union. The Banking Commission of the West African Monetary Union was subsequently established by an international convention signed in Ouagadougou on

UMOA-Titres

In 2012, the West African Monetary Union's Council of Ministers authorized the BCEAO to create a regional agency to support the issuance and management of their public securities (). The agency was formally created on under the name UMOA-Titres. Since then, UMOA-Titres has coordinated most of the member states' government debt issuance.

Member states

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Guinea Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Mali
• Niger
• Senegal
• Togo

Buildings

The BCEAO has a main branch, known as agency, in the largest city of each of the member states, whose building typically dominates the local skyline. In Dakar, the BCEAO's headquarters is in a high-rise building separate from the agency for Senegal. In addition, the BCEAO has branches in Parakou (Benin), Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Abengourou, Bouaké, Daloa, Korhogo, Man and San-Pédro (Côte d'Ivoire), Mopti and Sikasso (Mali), Maradi and Zinder (Niger), Kaolack and Ziguinchor (Senegal), and Kara (Togo). In Paris, the BCEAO maintains a representative office in its former headquarters building at 29, rue du Colisée.

File:SN-dakar-hafen-02.jpg|BCEAO headquarters tower in Dakar (center) File:BCEAO tower Cotonou, Benin1.jpg|Benin Agency in Cotonou File:Ouagadougou BCEAO day.JPG|Burkina Faso Agency in Ouagadougou File:Agencia BCEAO em Bissau.jpg|Guinea-Bissau Agency in Bissau File:BrancheBCEAOAbidjanFeb2016.jpg|Ivory Coast Agency in Abidjan File:Bamako bridge crop enh.jpg|Mali Agency in Bamako (left) File:BCEAO.JPG|Niger Agency in Niamey File:ZiguinchorBCEAO.jpg|Branch building in Ziguinchor, Senegal

Leadership

Robert Julienne, a French national, was chief executive () of the Institut d’émission, then of the BCEAO from 1955 to 1974, after which the bank's head held the title of Governor.

• , Governor 1975–1988
• Alassane Ouattara, Governor 1988–1990
• Charles Konan Banny, Governor 1990–2005
• Justin Damo Baro, Governor 2006–2008
• , Governor 2008–2011
• , Governor in 2011
• Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Governor 2011–2022
• Jean-Claude Brou, Governor 2022–

References

References

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4. "Dates clés". Central Bank of West African States.
5. (August 2017). "West African States CFA Franc Banknotes: First series of CFA banknotes issued by BCEAO 1959".
6. "Traité de l'Union Monétaire Ouest-Africaine". IZF.
7. Rattan J. Bhatia. (1985). "The West African Monetary Union An Analytical Review". International Monetary Fund.
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10. (2025-08-10). "UEMOA: the BCEAO will launch instant payment on September 30, 2025 and prepares the e-CFA".
11. (2015). "Film institutionnel sur l'histoire de la commission bancaire de l'UMOA".
12. (20 February 2018). "About Us".
13. René Boer. ({{date). "Two Banks Shaping the African Skyline".
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17. "Jean-Claude Kassi Brou Named Governor of Central Bank of West African States - SWFI".