Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Minister of Investment Promotion and Business Development understands the “expectations” surrounding the sale of one of the country’s main banks, but declined to comment on the matter on Monday, highlighting the central bank’s independence.
“It is a matter of exclusive jurisdiction of the central bank and any word I may say, more or less, may sound bad: I understand the question and you will also understand my silence in the answer”, said Eurico Monteiro, when questioned by journalists about the duration of the analysis process of the Banco de Cabo Verde (BCV) in relation to the sale of Banco Comercial do Atlântico (BCA), from the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) group, to Coris Holdings, from Burkina Faso.
“It’s normal for people, in general, to be waiting: there’s a proposal, there’s an expression of interest, there’s still no decision from the central bank,” he said, on the sidelines of an event in Praia, at the facilities of Banco Interatlântico (BI), also part of the CGD group.
“It is normal that there are, here and there, on the part of people, companies and the applicant himself, an expectation regarding this matter, but one thing is certain: the independence that the central bank enjoys recommends, in this matter, that we be cautious and I believe that the best form of prudence is silence as a response,” he concluded.
In March 2024, CGD announced the sale of its majority stake (59.81% of BCA’s share capital) to Coris Holdings, from Burkina Faso.
The sale, for 70.5 million euros, depends on formalities under Cape Verdean law, namely the opinion of the archipelago’s central bank.
In April, the BCV governor said that the analysis process was “in the final stretch” and that there should be a decision “in mid-May,” noting that the BCV is complying with the deadlines required by law.
The decision has not yet been announced.
The sale is part of CGD’s plan to reorganize its international operations, which will continue to operate in Cape Verde through Banco Interatlântico.
Coris Holding presents itself as a financial institution approved by the Banking Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and whose main activities are organized around the banking sector under the Coris Bank International brand, with nine subsidiaries.
In addition to Burkina Faso (where it is listed on the stock exchange), it is present in Ivory Coast, Mali, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Niger, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry.
Coris Holding also includes an Islamic finance subsidiary, Coris Bank International Baraka, which operates in seven other countries.
The Cape Verdean financial system has eight commercial banks, with BCA being one of the largest and one of the two banks of “high systemic importance”.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press