Lomé, 1st October 2024. On September 30, 2024, Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) changed the outlook to stable from negative on The West African Development Bank (BOAD) and affirmed the foreign currency long-term issuer and the foreign currency senior unsecured ratings at Baa1.
The change in outlook to stable from negative reflects Moody’s expectation that the strengthening of the Bank’s balance sheet and recent improvement in asset performance will be preserved with a strong liquidity and funding profile, of which Central Bank refinancing access is a credit-positive feature.
The affirmation of the Baa1 rating reflects BOAD’s strong capital support from shareholders, both on an ongoing basis and on an extraordinary basis as well as their ability to support the Bank’s expansion, enabling it to fulfill its mandate as a development finance institution.
Moody’s believes that BOAD’s role as a development institution committed to member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) secures strong commitment from sovereign borrowers for repayment, reinforcing its preferred creditor status. Despite a particularly challenging operating environment, Moody’s commends the Bank’s efforts to further strengthen its capital structure through the entry of new highly-rated non-regional shareholders as well as the use of innovative and proactive instruments including credit insurance, securitization and the issuance of hybrid capital instruments. All these initiatives attest to our commitment to sound corporate governance and accurate risk management.
« The West African Development Bank is honored by the upgrade in its outlook and the recognition of our commitment to fulfilling our obligations. We remain firmly dedicated to preserving and strengthening our fundamentals, aiming to enhance our capacity for intervention and broaden our impact on the economies and populations within the WAEMU region. The unwavering support from our shareholders, particularly our member countries and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), is the bedrock of our credibility. I would like to take this solemn opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of them for their steadfast commitment,” stated the President of the Bank, Mr. Serge EKUE.
About the West African Development Bank (BOAD):
The West African Development Bank (BOAD) is the common development finance institution of the member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). It is an international public institution whose purpose, as provided under Article 2 of its Articles of Association, is to promote the balanced development of its member countries and foster economic integration within West Africa by financing priority development projects. It is accredited to the three climate finance facilities (GEF, AF, GCF). Since 2009, BOAD sits as an observer at the UNFCCC and actively participates in discussions on devising an international climate finance system. As of January 2013, it has been home to the first Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), whose aim is to provide direct support to governments, NGOs and the private sector in identifying and developing CDM projects. Since October 15, 2023, the Bank has been co-chairing alongside Bancoldex, the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), which brings together 26 national, regional and multilateral development banks from around the world.
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