Top five banks control nearly three-quarters new lending

Banks operating in Cameroon approved 207,119 new loans during the first quarter of 2026, with a combined value of FCFA1.34 trillion, according to the latest Bank of Central African States (BEAC) report on lending rates across the CEMAC region. Cameroon remained the region’s largest credit market, accounting for more than half of all new lending issued across the six-member monetary union. Despite that position, the value of new loans fell sharply. Banks extended FCFA1.34 trillion in new credit between January and March 2026, down from FCFA1.89 trillion during the same period a year earlier, a decline of nearly FCFA550 billion.…