The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) has suspended new refinancing operations under a key facility designed to support productive investment across the six-member Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Cemac), according to sources familiar with the matter.
The decision was reportedly made after heated discussions during a meeting of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Yaoundé on April 2.
The suspension affects medium-term credit refinancing for investment projects, a mechanism that allows commercial banks to obtain funding from the central bank after extending loans to businesses undertaking qualifying projects. According to a BEAC source, the measure is temporary and is intended to give the institution time to modernize the facility.
"This is a provisional suspension that will allow us to update the operating framework of a mechanism that has been in place for decades. For now, we are no longer accepting new refinancing requests from commercial banks, but we continue to process applications submitted before the suspension took effect," the source said.
The move follows comments made by BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui during a September 2025 press conference, when he announced plans to reform the facility, formerly known as Window B. At the time, he said the review was intended to adapt the mechanism to current economic realities.
A Tool Designed to Support InvestmentThe Cemac money market operates through two main channels. The first is the interbank market, where commercial banks lend to one another using liquidity held at the central bank. The second consists of BEAC interventions through two refinancing facilities known as Window A and Window B.
"Window A is the traditional monetary policy channel through which liquidity is injected into or withdrawn from the banking system. Window B is dedicated to refinancing medium-term loans granted for productive investment," Bangui previously explained.
Under the rules governing the facility, BEAC financing cannot exceed 60% of a project's total cost.
Refinancing requests of up to CFA20 billion can be approved directly by the governor. Applications above that threshold require approval from the Monetary Policy Committee. National BEAC directors can approve requests of up to CFA4.5 billion per quarter, with a monthly ceiling of CFA1.5 billion.
For years, commercial banks across Cemac made extensive use of Window A while largely ignoring Window B. "In June 2025, we brought together all commercial banks in Bangui and presented the facility. The finding was striking: many banks were simply unaware that the instrument existed," Bangui revealed following the September 2025 MPC meeting.
That changed after BEAC's outreach campaign. Cameroonian banks, in particular, began using what the central bank now calls the Special Refinancing Facility. In 2025 alone, BEAC approved refinancing for CFA41.2 billion in loans linked to the Bipindi-Grand Zambi iron ore project in Cameroon and CFA31.3 billion in financing for telecommunications operator Camtel's investment program.
CCA Bank was also authorized to raise CFA30 billion from the central bank to help finance a mining project in the Republic of Congo. Afriland First Bank sought refinancing support for a CFA20 billion palm oil processing plant project being developed by the Cotton Development Company (Sodecoton).
Given the growing interest from commercial banks, the suspension temporarily removes an important source of funding for both lenders and industrial projects. Until the revised framework is finalized, banks and businesses across Cemac will have one less tool available to finance investments considered critical to the region's industrial development.
Impact Analysis
The suspension does not withdraw money that has already been committed — applications lodged before the decision are still processed — but it does close the intake for new medium-term investment files. That distinction matters: projects already in the pipeline keep their funding path, while projects that were about to be submitted lose a cheaper refinancing route and must fall back on commercial bank balance sheets, which are priced off Window A and the interbank market instead.
For banks, the immediate effect is a funding-mix problem. Window B let a lender extend a seven-year loan to an industrial client and refinance part of it at the central bank; without it, the same loan consumes the bank's own liquidity and capital. In practice that means slower approvals, tighter tenors and a higher margin demanded from borrowers — precisely the segment the facility was created to support.
For borrowers, the cash-flow consequence is concrete because the facility capped BEAC financing at 60% of a project's total cost. A sponsor still needs the remaining 40% plus working capital. Losing the refinancing leg tends to delay financial close on capital-intensive projects, and delays compound: equipment orders slip, construction windows move, and local suppliers wait longer to be paid.
There is a second-order effect on behaviour. The facility only became widely used after BEAC's 2025 outreach campaign revealed that many banks did not know it existed. A pause at exactly the moment usage is rising risks resetting that learning curve, so the practical question is not whether the framework is modernised but how quickly, and whether pending files are grandfathered under the old rules.
Historical Parallels
Pauses like this usually follow a recognisable pattern rather than signalling a change of direction. A refinancing window created decades ago is used lightly for years, then discovered by the market, then overwhelmed by demand that its operating manual was never written for. Central banks respond in one of three ways: they widen eligibility and accept the credit risk, they tighten caps and collateral, or — as here — they stop intake and rewrite the rulebook.
Each option produces a different outcome for borrowers. Widening keeps credit flowing but loads risk onto the central bank balance sheet. Tightening is fast but shrinks the facility to the safest borrowers, which defeats its development purpose. A temporary pause buys design time at the cost of a funding gap, and the length of that gap is what determines whether the episode is remembered as a technical reform or as a credit squeeze.
The relevant lesson for Cemac borrowers is about sequencing: when a facility is this new to the market, demand is concentrated in a handful of large projects, so a pause hits a small number of files very hard rather than many files mildly. That is why the treatment of applications already lodged is the single most important detail to watch.
The Special Refinancing Facility (former Window B) at a glance
| Item | Rule before the suspension | Status during the suspension |
|---|
| Purpose | Refinancing of medium-term loans granted for productive investment | Unchanged; operating framework being modernised |
| Maximum BEAC share of a project | 60% of total project cost | Expected to be reviewed in the new framework |
| Approval — governor | Requests up to CFA20 billion | No new requests accepted |
| Approval — Monetary Policy Committee | Requests above CFA20 billion | No new requests accepted |
| Approval — national BEAC directors | Up to CFA4.5 billion per quarter, CFA1.5 billion per month | Ceilings remain; intake paused |
| Applications lodged before the suspension | Processed normally | Still processed |
| 2025 approvals — examples | CFA41.2bn Bipindi-Grand Zambi iron ore; CFA31.3bn Camtel; CFA30bn CCA Bank mining; CFA20bn Sodecoton palm oil | Committed files unaffected; similar new files paused |
| Related channel | Window A — traditional monetary policy liquidity injections | Continues to operate |
Compiled from the BEAC statements, approval thresholds and 2025 approval cases reported in this article. Figures are as reported; check BEAC publications for the revised framework.
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