Bank Of Central African States (BEAC)

What Is the Bank Of Central African States (BEAC)?

The Banque des \u00c9tats de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC) is the central bank serving the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). CEMAC is made out of six country members, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo. CEMAC is a member of the bigger African Economic Community.

Understanding the Bank Of Central African States (BEAC)

BEAC was laid out in 1972 under the official name Banque des \u00c9tats de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC). The bank's head office is in Cameroon. The bank's job is to deal with the region's monetary policy, issue currency, drive the exchange rate of the region, deal with the foreign reserves of the member states and work with payments and settlement systems.

The BEAC has likewise carried out macroeconomic convergence, and that means it is endeavoring economic catch-up and monitoring systems. The bank has likewise adopted a customs union and common outer tariff, combined indirect taxation regulations, and started underlying and sector policies.

BEACS's Currency Evolution

BEAC's official currency is the Central African CFA franc, which had an exchange rate that was formerly fixed to the French franc however is currently fixed to the euro.

In December 2019, the heads of the eight countries that contain the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and the bigger 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced the CFA Franc would before long be renamed the Eco and have less connections to France proceeding. The currency would in any case be pegged to the euro yet the African countries will not need to keep half of their reserves in the French Treasury and will not need to keep a French representative on the currency union's board. Nonetheless, the new currency, which was intended to go into circulation toward the finish of 2020, has been delayed for upwards of five years because of the COVID-19 impact.

Scandals at the BEAC

The BEAC has not been free of scandal. Philibert Andzembe of Gabon had been the legislative leader of the BEAC from July 2007 until October 2009. Andzembe was terminated by the new president of Gabon, Ali Bongo after $25 million vanished from the bank's Paris branch.

A WikiLeaks reminder dated July 7, 2009, stated that Gabonese officials working for the Bank of Central African States took $36 million over a period of a long time from pooled reserves and gave the majority of the money to members of France's two primary political coalitions. In late 2010, Lucas Abaga Nchama of Equatorial Guinea was the bank's new leader.

In late 2016, another management team was announced, which included Abbas Mahamat Tolli from Chad and Dieudonn\u00e9 Evou Mekou from Cameroon who had been selected at the 27th Special Session of Heads of State of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC) in Malabo.

BEAC's Strategic Plan

As indicated by the World Bank, the BEAC's Strategic Plan was confirmed by the BEAC's Board of Directors on December 21, 2017.

The plan illustrated changes including carrying out the monetary policy that was spread out in the operational structure adopted in 2015 by the Monetary Policy Committee; continuing data system acquisition research to get accurate and opportune information; updating the legal system for payment systems and infrastructure with an emphasis on electronic payments and e-money (monetary value stored on a digital device); working on monetary investigation; stabilizing and expanding foreign reserve levels by controlling active transactions and sending off a gold adaptation program and introducing and coordinating foreign exchange IT systems for better tracking.

Features

• The Bank Of Central African States (BEAC) is the central bank of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).
• The bank was laid out in 1972 and is headquartered in Cameroon, where it oversees monetary policy, issues currency, and deals with the foreign reserves of member states, among different activities.
• BEAC's official currency is the Central African CFA franc, which has an exchange rate tied to the euro. The CFA franc is expected to be once again introduced as the Eco however the cycle has been delayed due to the impact of COVID-19.