Mr. President of the West African Development Bank,

Mr. Representative of the President of the West African Economic and Monetary Union Commission,

Mr. Representative of the President of the Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets,

Mr. Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of West African States,

Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the Banking Commission of the West African Monetary Union,

Former Secretaries General of the Banking Commission,

Madam Secretary General of the Banking Commission,

Madam and Representatives of the counterpart banking supervisory bodies,

Mr. Advisor of the AFRITAC West Center,

Mr. President of the Federation of Professional Associations of Banks and Financial Institutions of UEMOA,

Ladies and Gentlemen, General Managers of credit institutions,

My dear colleagues, Honorable guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere thanks for your appreciated presence at this ceremony, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of the WAEMU Banking Commission.

Despite your commitments, which I imagine are numerous at the end of the year, you have responded favorably to our invitation, thus particularly enhancing this moment which allows us to go back in time in order to better appreciate the present.

We wanted this ceremony to be simple and sober. It is first and foremost a symbolic celebration, intended primarily to pay tribute to all those who have helped, through their actions, to strengthen the effectiveness of banking supervision in our monetary union.

Next, this anniversary is an opportunity to take stock.

Indeed, it has been a quarter of a century since the WAMU Banking Commission, a supervisory body, was created by its member states. Its mission was to actively contribute to the clean-up and restructuring of the financial system, particularly following the serious deterioration in the quality of banking assets observed at the end of the 1980s throughout the Union.

This crisis, which led the monetary authorities to implement courageous and vast restructuring or liquidation programs for banks and financial institutions, will ultimately have made it possible to re-establish the fundamentals of healthy financing for our economies.

You were familiar with the history, and the documentary film that has just been shown to you has certainly reminded you of its broad outlines. This anniversary finally shows us that it is always history and past mistakes that teach us the best prudence to engage the future. The provisions that were once made to strengthen the prudential framework applicable to banks and financial institutions are more relevant than ever. They make it possible, today as in the past, to ensure the resilience of our banking system and to best guarantee the interests of depositors. Over time, the difficulties of the banking sector have therefore ended up fading away. This should not, however, lead us to be less vigilant.

But, before going any further, I would like, as announced, to take the opportunity of this platform to pay a warm tribute to the instigators of these successful reforms that I have just mentioned. I would like, first of all, to salute the vision of the main architect of this restructuring, the designer of the UMOA Banking Commission, His Excellency Alassane OUATTARA, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, former Governor of the Central Bank of West African States and Honorary Governor of the BCEAO.

Our gratitude also goes to all those who have worked valiantly to establish this regional banking supervision. I would like to mention the members of the Banking Commission and the Secretaries General who have succeeded one another, for the quality of their work and the seriousness of their commitment. I do not forget the former agents of the Central Bank, some of whom are present in this room, who remember the efforts and sacrifices made to preserve our financial stability and to concretize community solidarity.

I also salute, with deference, the memory of those who have passed away, who participated in this delicate adventure and helped to forge the credibility and independence of the Banking Commission. Other friendly institutions deserve our recognition for having effectively supported us in strengthening the capacities of our human resources and training inspectors, including the Banque de France, the IMF through AFRITAC West Africa, and the Al Maghrib Bank. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the no less negligible merit of the agents of the General Secretariat of the Banking Commission, for their professionalism and loyalty.

Ladies and Gentlemen, As you know, major changes have occurred in the banking sector in the aftermath of the international financial crisis of 2008, and the changes observed in international regulations require us to adapt our approach to risk and our supervision methods accordingly.

As Governor of the BCEAO and President of the Banking Commission, I remain aware that nothing is definitively acquired. The central role that is its requires the supervisory body to anticipate often in order to continually overcome new types of difficulties. To achieve such an objective, it needs human and material resources that are up to the challenges, but also constant reflection.

Honorable guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Many steps still need to be taken to ensure the resilience of the banking system of the WAMU States, that is to say its capacity to withstand economic difficulties and external shocks. This celebration, in its second part, already invites us to reflect on a general theme: "Banking supervision: experiences, lessons and perspectives in the WAMU zone". The sessions will allow us to discuss the most effective banking supervision processes. Other supervisory authorities have kindly participated. I am delighted to have them in this room and thank them for their contribution. Honorable guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Many steps still need to be taken. To this end, allow me to reaffirm our ambition to make the Banking Commission a center of rigor and modernity, capable of ensuring supervision in line with the accelerated evolution of regulatory supervision standards.

The dynamic of harmonization with international norms and standards was initiated during the institutional reform of 2010, which notably strengthened the powers of the Banking Commission and broadened its scope of action to large microfinance institutions. This 2010 reform also provided answers to the diversification of the banking landscape. We wish to quickly complete these initiatives, in particular by further conforming our supervision framework to the 29 Basel principles, but above all, by proceeding with an adapted transposition of the Basel II and Basel III agreements into the WAEMU regulatory corpus. In this regard, I would like to indicate that the deliverables of the Basel 2/Basel 3 implementation working group that I set up at the Central Bank will be the subject of extensive consultation with the banking profession in the coming weeks.

This commitment to the process of adaptation to international standards will be made while ensuring, of course, a fair balance between the necessary financing of economies and the safeguarding of financial stability.

We are also prepared to increase the means of intervention of the General Secretariat of the Banking Commission, by providing it with additional resources to efficiently manage its growing activities. Honorable guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Before concluding, I would like to express to the leaders of credit institutions our full confidence and our hope to see them increase their performance while ensuring compliance with the rules laid down. I would like to assure them of the full availability of the BCEAO, the Banking Commission and its General Secretariat to deepen and perpetuate a framework for regular consultations. Finally, I would like to reiterate my thanks to the Presidents of the Institutions and Organs of the Union, as well as to all of you who made the trip this morning and marked with a special seal this 25th anniversary of the Banking Commission of the UMOA.

I thank you for your kind attention.