WAEMU Financial Market: The Central Depository/Settlement Bank's securities custody reaches 19,140 billion FCFA in 2023.

The Central Depository/Settlement Bank (DC/BR) of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) saw its centralized securities custody reach 19,140 billion CFA francs at the end of 2023, compared to 17,861 billion CFA francs in 2022, representing a growth of 7.16%.

The announcement was made on January 18, 2024, by the Director General of the Central Depository/Settlement Bank, Birahim Diouf, during the annual meeting with Regional Financial Market stakeholders at the new DC/BR headquarters in Abidjan-Plateau.

Addressing the Professional Associations of Management and Financial Intermediation Companies of UEMOA (APSGI/UEMOA) and the Professional Association of Custodian Account-Holding Banks of UEMOA (APBTCC/UEMOA), Mr. Diouf presented the institution's 2023 activity report and its 2024 outlook.

Nearly 50 participants attended the meeting, both in person and online. APBTCC was represented by its President, Marie-Antoinette N’Zebo, while APSGI was represented by its Executive Director, Soualiou Fadiga.

The Director General highlighted the crucial role of the DC/BR in the Regional Financial Market ecosystem since it began operations in 1998. He also reiterated the institution’s core missions, including the centralized custody of securities on behalf of management and brokerage firms, custodian account-holding banks, and issuers.

The report indicates that DC/BR distributed a total amount of 1,929 billion CFA francs in 2023, compared to 1,497 billion CFA francs in 2022, for the payment of dividends, interest, and bond capital repayments, reflecting a 28.83% increase.

“We are pleased with this remarkable growth in activities, particularly in the off-market sector, which demonstrates the commitment and dynamism of DC/BR and its members. This reflects our dedication to providing quality services to our members and maintaining our reputation for excellence,” said the Director General of DC/BR.

Regarding the distribution of dividends by sector, the financial sector led with 45.05% (85 billion CFA francs), followed by public services with 36.95% (69 billion CFA francs). The agriculture and industry sectors contributed 7.44% (14 billion CFA francs) and 4.83% (9 billion CFA francs), respectively. Finally, the distribution and transport sectors completed the total with 5.06% (9 billion CFA francs) and 0.67% (1 billion CFA francs), respectively.

For 2024, DC/BR plans to develop a comprehensive financial ecosystem product offering based on Swift standards. This includes finalizing the digitization of Public Offering operations and continuing the codification of financial instruments. Additionally, DC/BR will initiate work on a collateral management service for repo transactions, securities pledging, and more.

Participants discussed the automation and digitization of DC/BR operations, the establishment of a document exchange system between DC/BR and market participants, and the interconnection with central depositories from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and across the continent.

Other 2024 initiatives include managing shareholder registers for unlisted companies, launching the DC/BR website, organizing CSR activities, hosting meetings with journalists and professional banking associations, implementing client-level account registration, and transitioning the Settlement/Delivery cycle from T+3 to T+2.

This meeting also provided an opportunity for the President of APBTCC/UEMOA, Marie-Antoinette N’Zebo, to announce the organization’s General Assembly this year, as well as the initiation of projects related to AELP and online stock exchange activities in collaboration with APSGI.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of APSGI/UEMOA, Soualiou Fadiga, announced structural enhancements within the association, including the recruitment of human resources and the establishment of more functional office spaces to facilitate operations. He further stated that the association aims to promote market professionalism and certification. Finally, in terms of market promotion, Mr. Fadiga announced the upcoming organization of a Trade Fair, for which he sought DC/BR’s participation.

Ct/Abidjan.net