The Central Bank of West African States (French: Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA):
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)
- Mali
- Niger
- Senegal
- Togo
The Bank is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
History
Its predecessor, the Institut d’Emission de l’Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo, was created in 1955 and was transformed into BCEAO in 1959. The treaty establishing the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), signed on May 12, 1962, gave BCEAO the exclusive right to issue the currency as the common central bank for the then seven member countries:
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Dahomey
- Haute-Volta
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Niger
- Senegal
See also
- Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC)
- Banque d'Afrique Occidentale (BAO) 1901-1962
- Central banks and currencies of Africa
- CFA Franc
- West African CFA franc
- Economy of Benin
- Economy of Burkina Faso
- Economy of Guinea-Bissau
- Economy of Ivory Coast
- Economy of Mali
- Economy of Niger
- Economy of Senegal
- Economy of Togo
- Payment system
- Real-time gross settlement
References
External links
- (French) (English) Official site: Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest
