The Executive Board of the West African Bankers’ Association (WABA) had the honor ofbeing received in audience this Tuesday, May 24, 2022 by the President of Nigeria,His Excellency, Mr. Muhammadu BUHARI. Also, in attendance were the Nigerian Ministerof Foreign Affairs,
One of the objectives of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) established in 1975 is in accordance with articles 3 and 51-55 of its Treaty on the establishment of an Economic and Monetary Union for its member countries.The Monetary Integration process started with the establishment of the West African Clearing House (WACH) mechanism as a multilateral payment arrangement. The WACH now transformed to the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), was to promote trade in the sub-region by providing a payment mechanism for clearing and settlement of intra-regional transactions as well as to encourage the use of national currencies and transactions that brought about saving in the use of foreign exchange.To forge links between Banks within the sub-region in order to promote trade as a reinforcement of WAMA’S role, the West African Bankers’ Association (WABA) was established on August 10th, 1981 based on the recommendations and under the auspices of the Committee of Governors of Central Banks of ECOWAS as a Regional Association including all primary banks, development banks, credit institutions and banking professional bodies existing in the West African
sub-region. The main objective conceived for the establishment of the Association was to provide support and promote the West African Clearing House (WACH) as a mean of enhancing intra-regional trade. The Central Bank Governors of the West African States having realized that any business transaction resulting in cross-border settlements by the Central Banks should necessarily pass through the Commercial Banks found it necessary to call for the establishment of an association that would serve as a link between the Central Banks and the economic operators, i.e. the Commercial Banks in the sub-region. No wonder, that in its earlier years of existence, the Association was primarily being financed by the Central Banks, and its efforts were concentrated on one of its primary objectives which is the promotion of the payments system and dissemination of information. There were some activities like seminars, workshops on both local chapters and the international level linked to this primary objective. As time went by, Central Banks Governors felt that the Association should be entirely left to be run and funded by the Commercial Banks being an association that was established for their benefits too.
Its Secretariat is located in Freetown, Sierra Leone and is headed by a Secretary General. Each Country has its local chapter represented, which is the National Bankers’ Association. There are now 245 banks in ECOWAS area of which 140 are in the West African Economic and
Monetary Union (WAEMU – UEMOA) and 105 in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ).
The
mission of WABA is to:
–
Represent the Banking and Financial Sector to the States, the ECOWAS
Commission, the Central Banks, the Consular Chambers, the Professional
Organizations, the National and International Institutions and any other party
involved in the economic and social activity and the regional integration
project in order to promote the interests of its members;
–
Promote the Banking and Financial Sector and contribute to raising its
professional practices to the level of international standards;
–
Be the showcase for the economy, the banking and financial sector of ECOWAS;
–
Develop and coordinate cross-border banking and financial transactions with a
view to promoting intra-regional trade, economic and financial integration and
development.
To
be the benchmark and to be recognized as the Regional Banking Association with
the most impact in Africa by 2030
IV. Values
Solidarity: the basis of any association being solidarity and
sharing among all its members
Openness: listening to its
environment, its members and political, economic, social, monetary, banking and
financial actors at national, regional and international level
Accessibility : being available,
transparent and easy to access
Scalability: constantly adapting to its environment to better
respond to the evolving needs of its members and national, regional,
international, political, economic, monetary, banking and financial actors,
WABA plays a professional and a political
role.
It
is first of all a “professional
organization” whose mandate is to defend interests and the points of
view of its members wherever it is necessary.
It
is then a member of the “ECOWAS
Private Sector Group” and, as such, a body through which the
Commission and the ECOWAS States deal with the Banking and Financial System.
Broadly dependent on its dual role,
its general objective is to represent and to serve the Banking System and then
to contribute to the realization of the economic, monetary, banking and
financial union of the ECOWAS countries.
VI. Specific objectives
The
specific objectives of WABA are to:
–
Strengthen ties and cooperation between ECOWAS banks in particular and between
african banks in general,
–
Contribute to the harmonization of their professional rules and practices in
order to create a unified banking and financial area respecting international
standards,
–
Conduct collective reflection and manage the common files of the Banking and
Financial Profession,
–
Contribute to the development of intra-ECOWAS and intra-african economic,
commercial, banking and financial exchanges,
–
To be the interlocutor of the States, the ECOWAS Commission, the Central Banks,
the Consular Chambers, the Professional Organizations and any other stakeholder
to the economic, social and regional integration in order to defend the
interests of its members,
–
Participate in the designing of the common monetary policy, the creation of the
ECOWAS Central Bank and the Single Currency,
–
Attracting and directing international investors to the ECOWAS Zone,
– Contribute to the
strengthening and the improvement of professional capacities of the employees,
officers and managers of the ECOWAS banks.
7.1. Activities as a member of the
ECOWAS Private Sector Group
As
a member of the ECOWAS Private Sector Group, WABA is working closely with the
Commission, the Central Banks and all other ECOWAS bodies on the economic,
monetary, banking and financial integration of the Sub- Region and in
particular on the following main projects:
–
Creation of the ECOWAS Single Currency,
–
ECOWAS Regional Payments System,
–
System of Quotation and Transaction in National Currencies,
– Centralized
Credit Risk Database,
– West
Africa Banking Institute.
7.2. Own activities as Professional
Association
Its
status as a professional association and the need to achieve its objectives
assign to it the following activities mentioned in its Constitution:
–
To undertake all activities assigned to it and to explore all the opportunities
it deems necessary to facilitate the achievement of its objectives,
–
Establish and maintain normal relations with regional or interregional
organizations with similar or related objectives, in particular the West
African Sub-Regional Committee of the Association of African Central Banks
(ABCA) and the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA),
–
Promote good corporate governance practices in banks and other financial
institutions in West Africa,
–
Contribute to the sharing of ideas and experiences and to capacity building in
the economic, monetary, banking and financial sectors through the periodic
organization of forums, training seminars and conferences,
–
Publish a Magazine containing information on the banking activities of the
subregion.
VIII. Main achievements of WABA
since its creation
Despite the difficulties often
faced by most sub-regional initiatives and organizations, WABA has achieved
great achievements since its creation.
Indeed,
it has largely contributed to the awareness of its members to the contemporary
challenges of the Banking and Financial Sector.
In November 2008, WABA organized a seminar on the international
financial crisis and its effects on banks in West Africa, where a press release
was issued which made pertinent recommendations that enabled some banks,
mitigate and even counter the effects of the global financial crisis.
Training seminars and short-term
workshops are regularly
organized with the aim of training and refining the management, supervisory and
executive staff of the members.
Below we list some of the most
important and recent:
– In October 2009: in collaboration with Downton Hill, London,
anti-money laundering workshop,
– In November 2009: in collaboration with Afreximbank, seminar and
workshop on the financing of structured trade,
– In May 2010: workshop for all banks in West Africa on listing and
trading mechanisms in the national currencies of West African countries,
– In July 2010: seminar-workshop on Islamic Microfinance in
collaboration with ADFIMI (Association of National Development Finance Institutions in
member countries of the Islamic Development Bank),
– In November 2010: seminar-workshop on governance and risk management,
– In February 2011: in collaboration with Downton Hill London, training
seminar on bank risk management in Lagos, Nigeria,
– In May 2011: in collaboration with Downton Hill, training seminar
on bank risk management in Accra, Ghana,
– In November 2011: organization of the First Forum of West African Bank
Managers, bringing together all the operators and regulators of the banks of
the subregion at the Pan-African Conference Center of Ecobank Int’l in Lomé,
Togo,
– In November 2012: in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission, seminar
and workshop on the Project for the creation of a Centralized Credit Risk
Database for all banks in West Africa,
– In December 2013: at Songhai Farms, Porto Novo, Republic of Benin, a
seminar on the cross-border payment system and the “Songhai Project”
to help retired bankers wishing to invest in Agriculture,
– Each year, organizing several other training seminars and forums
on various topics of interest to the ECOWAS Banking Profession,
– Ongoing work on common projects
of the ECOWAS Commission and WABA
on monetary and financial integration,
– During 2014 and 2015, WABA activities were virtually frozen as a result of
the EBOLA epidemic and the limited travel it caused in West Africa,
– 2016 was a year of restoration,
– 2017 and 2018
are the beginning of its revitalization with the help of all Executive Council
members.
–
2019 – Adoption of the Strategic and Organizational Development
Plan 2020/2024 and its “value propositions” which will determine the
main activities of WABA for the period under review.
