Cameroon’s Takeover of General Bank Deepens Concerns Over State’s Growing Banking Role

Cameroon’s takeover of Société Générale Cameroun, now renamed General Bank of Cameroon (GBC), has become part of a broader concern over the state’s growing footprint in the banking industry, with the African Development Bank warning that repeated public recapitalizations and acquisitions are creating additional fiscal and governance risks.

In its 2026 Country Report on Cameroon, the AfDB describes the expansion of state involvement in banking as a “major source of concern” and cites the acquisition completed on May 12, 2026, as the latest example of the trend.

The warning, however, does not amount to a finding that GBC itself is financially weak. The report is not an audit of the acquired bank. Its concern is broader: the accumulation of government stakes in banks, the governance risks associated with those holdings and the growing interdependence between public finances and bank balance sheets.

The government acquired the 58.08% stake previously held by Société Générale Group. Since the state already owned 25.60% of the subsidiary, the transaction was expected to raise its interest to 83.68%, based on the terms announced when the sale agreement was signed in July 2025.

The government has presented the takeover as a move to strengthen financial sovereignty and ensure stability. When the transaction closed, the Finance Ministry said measures had been taken to ensure continuity of banking services and the security of deposits.

The IMF has raised similar concerns

The AfDB’s warning follows concerns previously raised by the International Monetary Fund.

In its 2026 consultation report, completed on March 9, the IMF said growing government ownership of banks was increasing fiscal, operational and governance risks. It counted eight institutions in which the state held a majority interest.

The IMF recommended clear rules for the management and supervision of state-owned banks, along with restructuring or resolution plans for troubled institutions. It also recommended that the government divest its holdings where feasible. The Fund’s executive board similarly urged caution over the expansion of the state’s footprint in the banking system.

The issue extends beyond GBC’s ownership.

Cameroonian banks’ holdings of government securities increased from 9.5% of their assets at the end of 2015 to 32% in June 2025. According to the IMF, several banks held more than half of their assets in claims on governments within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, or CEMAC.

That concentration strengthens the link between banks’ financial health and governments’ fiscal positions. It can also reduce the resources available to finance businesses and households.

The AfDB also noted that public debt service absorbed 23.8% of Cameroon’s budget in 2025, up from 9.8% in 2013.

Banking indicators are still improving

The increase in these risks does not mean Cameroon’s banking system is experiencing a broad deterioration.

At the end of November 2025, the combined balance sheets of the country’s 18 operating banks had grown 9.3% to CFA13.593 trillion. Customer deposits rose 8.4% to CFA8.865 trillion, while lending increased 17% to CFA6.924 trillion.

Sixteen of the 18 banks were fully compliant with prudential requirements. The gross nonperforming loan ratio also declined to 12.9% in 2025 from 14.3% in 2024.

The AfDB’s concerns therefore center less on an immediate deterioration across the banking industry than on sovereign-risk concentration and the governance of institutions controlled by the government.

In discussions with the IMF, Cameroonian authorities described state interventions in banks as temporary measures designed to restructure troubled institutions, restore their profitability and eventually reduce government ownership.

However, public sources reviewed through Aug. 25, 2026, provide no specific timetable for the government to reduce its stake in GBC or bring additional shareholders into the bank.

The issue raised by the AfDB therefore extends beyond the original rationale for the acquisition. Attention now shifts to how GBC will be governed, how transparent its exposure to the public sector will be and under what conditions the government could eventually share or relinquish control.

Baudouin Enama