CFG Bank to boost its presence in West Africa

Moroccan lender CFG Bank is planning to expand operations in French-speaking countries in West Africa through Ivory Coast or Senegal, says Bloomberg.

The bank founded in 1992 wants to begin «strategic alliances» in one of the above-mentioned countries by 2019, Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, the regional head of Western and Central Africa at Amethis Finance, a private-equity which acquired a 13-percent stake in CFG told the same source.

«We’re looking at these two countries from an asset-management angle to start with and then retail and expansion», Kouassi-Olsson said in an interview.

CFG which has 13 branches in Morocco is seeking to enter two of the largest economies in the West African Economic and Monetary Union which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

The union has established a common accounting system, periodic reviews of member countries' macroeconomic policies based on convergence criteria, a regional stock exchange, and the legal and regulatory framework for a regional banking system.

Other Moroccan banks have already boosted their presence in West Africa such as Attijariwafa Bank, Groupe Banque Centrale Populaire and BMCE Bank of Africa. They have made several acquisitions in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali.