General Bank of Cameroon’s Customer Funding Falls Faster Than Lending After State Takeover

General Bank of Cameroon (GBC) reported CFA741.9 billion in identifiable customer financing at the end of July 2026, against CFA1.05 trillion in funds collected from customers, according to its published monthly financial statement. Based on the bank’s figures, the two amounts produce a financing-to-customer-funding ratio of 71%. Total assets stood at CFA1.40 trillion at the same date.

The financing figure comprises CFA482.60 billion in medium-term loans, CFA131.71 billion in short-term loans, CFA102.12 billion in customer overdraft accounts and CFA25.48 billion in leasing. Accrued receivables, which cannot be isolated precisely from the reproduced statement, are excluded from the calculation. The CFA741.9 billion figure is therefore an aggregate based on the main balance-sheet items rather than a measure of gross loans under prudential reporting standards.

The publication still carries the Société Générale Cameroun name and visual identity, although the French banking group completed the sale of its stake to the Cameroonian government on May 12, 2026. The bank has since operated under the General Bank of Cameroon name, with the state as majority shareholder alongside SanlamAllianz. The transaction opened a transition phase for the bank’s IT systems and operational arrangements.

Demand deposits reach CFA829 billion

Customer funding remains heavily concentrated in demand deposits. These totaled CFA829.47 billion, equivalent to 79.3% of the customer resources included in the calculation. Savings accounts stood at CFA168.57 billion, term deposits at CFA37.52 billion and cash certificates at CFA9.96 billion.

Overall, funds collected from customers represented 74.7% of the balance sheet. Liabilities to banks and other financial institutions stood at CFA83.19 billion, including CFA77.05 billion in term liabilities and CFA6.13 billion in demand liabilities.

On the asset side, identifiable customer financing accounted for 53% of the balance sheet. Medium-term loans were the largest component, at 65% of the financing total used in the calculation.

Investment securities, securities received under repurchase agreements or purchased outright totaled CFA397.74 billion, while demand interbank transactions stood at CFA167.54 billion. Together, the two categories amounted to CFA565.28 billion, or 40.4% of total assets.

Financing falls 7% from end-2024

Société Générale Cameroun’s 2024 annual report showed total assets of CFA1.59 trillion, CFA1.26 trillion in customer funding on the same basis and CFA798.82 billion in identifiable customer financing, including leasing. Compared with that base, GBC’s July 2026 balance sheet was CFA189.24 billion smaller, a decline of 11.9%. Customer funding fell by CFA212.67 billion, or 16.9%, while identifiable financing declined by CFA56.90 billion, or 7.1%.

The financing-to-customer-funding ratio nevertheless increased from 63.5% to 71%. The increase therefore does not reflect growth in the overall volume of financing. It results mainly from customer deposits declining faster than financing.

The composition of financing also changed. Medium-term loans increased by CFA47.51 billion, or 10.9%, while short-term loans fell by CFA87.60 billion, or 39.9%. Customer overdraft accounts declined by CFA7.12 billion and leasing by CFA9.69 billion.

At the same time, investment securities and related transactions increased by CFA150.54 billion, or 60.9%, while demand interbank transactions fell by CFA244.18 billion, or 59.3%. These changes show a shift in the composition of GBC’s assets, but the monthly statement alone does not provide enough information to determine what caused it.

The 2024 annual report noted that deposit collection that year had benefited from CFA79 billion in foreign-currency deposits from companies. Without those funds, deposits would have fallen by CFA28 billion, according to the bank.

The July 2026 statement provides no breakdown of deposits by customer category or currency. It is therefore not possible to explain the CFA212.7 billion decline since the end of 2024 or attribute it to the change in ownership.

Balance sheet remains larger than SCB and UBA

At the same date and on a comparable basis, SCB Cameroon reported total assets of CFA912.44 billion, customer funding of CFA717.2 billion and identifiable customer financing of CFA489.3 billion. Its financing-to-customer-funding ratio stood at 68.2%.

UBA Cameroon reported total assets of CFA780.19 billion. Its four main customer funding categories totaled CFA595.22 billion, while identifiable financing stood at CFA237.32 billion, producing a ratio of 39.9%.

GBC’s balance sheet was therefore 53.3% larger than SCB’s and 79.3% larger than UBA’s. Its identifiable customer financing exceeded SCB’s by CFA252.62 billion and was slightly more than three times UBA’s. The comparison is limited to financial statements available and verified as of July 31, 2026, however, and cannot be used to establish a complete ranking of Cameroon’s banking market.

UBA and GBC, meanwhile, reported almost identical amounts of investment securities and related transactions: CFA398.70 billion at UBA and CFA397.74 billion at GBC. Their weight on the two banks’ balance sheets differed considerably, at 51.1% for UBA compared with 28.4% for GBC.

General Bank of Cameroon’s share capital stood at CFA25 billion, up from CFA12.5 billion at the end of 2024. The new amount corresponds to the minimum capital requirement established for banks in the CEMAC region under COBAC Regulation R-2025/02.

The monthly statement does not provide an income statement, the amount of nonperforming loans, provisions, cost of risk or regulatory solvency and liquidity ratios. It therefore does not provide enough information to assess the bank’s profitability, the quality of its loan portfolio or the level of its regulatory capital.

Baudouin Enama