The position occupied by Cameroon, which is now borrowing at historically high levels for its short-term securities, illustrates the end of an era characterized by moderation in borrowing costs. This evolution highlights the pressure exerted on national treasuries by the tightening of austere monetary policy pursued to counter inflation and by the intensification of short-term cash needs.

This sovereign debt cost increase stems from the progressive saturation of commercial banks' balance sheets, which traditionally form the backbone of intermediaries in the Treasury securities market. By massively absorbing public securities issued to cover budget deficits, the banking sector reaches its prudential exposure limits, triggering, by ricochet, intensified competition among states and a mechanical rise in the yields demanded by investors. For an economy like Cameroon's, which has made the money market the central pillar of its budgetary coverage strategy in recent years, this rate escalation weighs heavily on debt service and restricts the maneuvering room of public finances.

Faced with banking liquidity constraints and the high cost of borrowing, the response of public authorities can no longer be limited to a simple acceptance of market conditions. Diversifying financing sources has become an unavoidable macroeconomic necessity, involving the mobilization of alternative institutional actors such as insurance companies and the broadening of the subscriber base to small savers through digitalization and mobile payment solutions. The sustainability of the sovereign signature and the mastery of budgetary debt burden thus depend on the ability to structure a more inclusive and less bank-liquidity-dependent debt market in the sub-region.


The Editorial Team

Tags: marché des titres publics cemac taux d'intérêt dette souveraine cameroun resserrement monétaire banques commerciales financement public diversification des sources inclusion financière