DAKAR, Feb 24 – The West African Development Bank, BOAD, said it invests part of its liquidity in sovereign bonds issued by member states as part of its treasury management strategy, according to a note sent to investors on Monday.
The Togo based lender said the purchases differ from its budget support operations, which it provides to governments through loans and grants. The bank added that sovereign bond holdings form part of asset management and not direct fiscal assistance to member countries.
BOAD said it buys the bonds to optimize treasury operations and reduce the cost of holding idle cash. It also described the instruments as among the safest financial assets in the West African Economic and Monetary Union region. The institution said it has not recorded a sovereign payment default in more than 50 years of operations.
The clarification comes as WAEMU governments increasingly rely on the regional market to finance spending. Debt issuance in the bloc is expected to rise 27.7% to 15.143 trillion CFA francs, ($27.86 billion) in 2026, according to Arouna Sow of the regional debt agency UMOA Titres.
BOAD’s June 2025 financial statement showed its holdings of Ivorian bonds rose nearly 360% over six months, while its Senegalese portfolio increased about 65%.
Ivory Coast said at the same conference that it plans to raise 4.221 trillion CFA francs ($7.69 billion) this year. Senegal plans to raise 4.132 trillion CFA francs ($7.54 billion) after authorities disclosed previously unreported liabilities. The International Monetary Fund said Senegal’s public debt reached 132% of gross domestic product at the end of 2024, up from 78% in 2023.
Senegal has already raised 590 billion CFA francs, around $1.06 billion, in five issuances on the regional market this year, with strong participation from investors in Togo and Senegal.
