Nearly 48.7% of CEMAC microfinance institutions were rated ‘very fragile’ at 31 December 2025, according to the annual report of the Banking Commission of Central Africa published on 22 October 2026. Only 17.9% were considered broadly sound.
This category denotes high prudential vulnerability. On its own, it does not mean that the institutions concerned will cease operations.
Non-performing loans rose 33.2% year on year. Meanwhile, the cumulative net profit of microfinance institutions in the subregion collapsed by 89.4%, from FCFA 22.5 billion in 2024 to FCFA 2.4 billion in 2025.
COBAC links this deterioration to a rising cost of risk. Net allocations to provisions and amortisation rose 46.7% to FCFA 33.6 billion, while net financial income declined slightly.
In Cameroon, the region’s largest market, microfinance institutions recorded a cumulative loss of FCFA 6.87 billion after a profit of FCFA 5.24 billion in 2024. The Republic of Congo and Gabon remained profitable.
The report also records seven new provisional administration proceedings and five liquidation proceedings opened in 2025. Fourteen microfinance institutions were under provisional administration at the end of the year.