Overview of Credit Institutions
As of December 31, 2025, the Union's banking sector comprised 161 licensed credit institutions. The banking landscape consisted of 136 banks (including 22 branches) and 25 financial institutions of a banking nature (including 5 branches). The breakdown by country is as follows :
Table 1: Institutional Structure of Licensed Credit Institutions as of December 31, 2025
| Country | Banks | Financial Institutions of a Banking Nature | Total (a+b) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (a) | Of which: Branches | Total (b) | Of which: Branches | ||
| Benin | 14 | 2 | 1 | - | 15 |
| Burkina Faso | 16 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 20 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 29 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 33 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 6 | 3 | - | - | 6 |
| Mali | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| Niger | 14 | 4 | 6 | - | 20 |
| Senegal | 29 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 33 |
| Togo | 14 | 3 | 3 | - | 17 |
| WAMU | 136 | 22 | 25 | 5 | 161 |
Source: General Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission
As of end-December 2025, 33 banks were designated as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
Overview of Financial Companies
As of December 31, 2025, the Union's banking system included 21 financial companies, compared with 18 a year earlier. This total comprised 17 financial holding companies and 4 intermediate financial holding companies. The breakdown by country is as follows :
Table 2: Breakdown of Financial Companies by Country as of December 31, 2025
| Country | Financial Holding Companies (a) | Intermediate Financial Holding Companies (b) | Total (a+b) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benin | - | - | - |
| Burkina Faso | 2 | - | 2 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Guinea-Bissau | - | - | - |
| Mali | - | - | - |
| Niger | - | - | - |
| Senegal | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Togo | 4 | - | 4 |
| WAEMU | 17 | 4 | 21 |
Source: General Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission
Landscape of Microfinance Institutions
Microfinance activities are governed by the Uniform Law regulating Decentralized Financial Systems (DFSs) and its implementing regulations. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 44 of this law and Instruction No. 007-06-2010 of June 4, 2010, issued by the BCEAO concerning the procedures for supervision and sanctions by the Central Bank and the Banking Commission, the issuing institution and the regional banking supervisory authority conduct, after informing the Minister, the supervision of any decentralized financial system whose level of activity reaches a threshold of two (2) billion in outstanding deposits or loans over two (2) consecutive financial years. Other DFSs that have not reached this activity threshold are supervised by the Ministries of Finance of each State.
As of December 31, 2025, the landscape of large DFSs comprised 293 entities, including 131 networks and standalone institutions, and 162 primary-level institutions affiliated with a network. Networks and standalone institutions include companies, associations, networks, and unaffiliated Mutual or Cooperative Savings and Credit Institutions (MCSCIs).
Table No. 3: Number of DFSs Covered by Article 44 as of December 31, 2025
| Country | Primary-level institutions affiliated with a network | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies | Associations | Networks | Unaffiliated MCSCIs | |||
| Benin | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 42 |
| Burkina Faso | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 50 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 13 | - | 2 | 5 | 23 | 43 |
| Guinea-Bissau | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mali | 4 | 6 | 4 | - | 11 | 26 |
| Niger | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 |
| Senegal | 6 | - | 4 | 5 | 66 | 81 |
| Togo | 3 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 16 | 47 |
| WAMU | 46 | 17 | 22 | 46 | 162 | 293 |
Source : BCEAO
As of December 31, 2025, 70 deployments of financial services via mobile telephony were recorded within the Union. These services are provided by :
- 49 banks, in partnership with telecommunications operators ;
- 18 electronic money institutions (EMIs) ;
- 1 decentralized financial system (DFS) ;
- 2 national public treasuries.
Under its mandate, the Banking Commission supervises EMIs as part of protecting customer funds and promoting financial inclusion. The number of these supervised entities stood at 18 at the end of December 2025, compared with 14 one year earlier.
Table No. 4: Number of EMIs as of December 31, 2025
| Country | Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) |
|---|---|
| Benin | 3 |
| Burkina Faso | 1 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 4 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1 |
| Mali | 2 |
| Niger | 1 |
| Senegal | 5 |
| Togo | 1 |
| WAMU | 18 |
Source : General Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission
