Credit Communautaire d’Afrique (CCA Bank), a Cameroonian lender controlled by businessman Albert Nkemla, has been picked to join a three-bank consortium financing the development of Trident OGX Congo’s Mengo Kundji Bindi II onshore oil field.
CCA Bank will contribute 30 billion CFA francs to the project’s total cost of 200 billion CFA francs, according to Bank of Central African States (BEAC) documents seen by Investir au Cameroun.
Trident OGX Congo has mandated the Sino-Congolese Bank for Africa (BSCA Bank) as lead arranger for the financing. BSCA Bank initially formed a lending syndicate including BGFIBank Congo, Ecobank Congo and Credit du Congo.
Ecobank Congo and Credit du Congo were later dropped from the syndicate after delays in internal approvals, which BEAC attributed to the distance of their parent groups and slow operational processes that threatened the project timetable. They were replaced by CCA Bank Cameroon, BEAC said. BEAC is the regional central bank serving the six CEMAC states: Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and the Central African Republic.
BEAC refinancing terms
BEAC became involved after BSCA Bank asked it to access its “Window B” facility, now known as the “Special BEAC Refinancing Window,” to support the Trident OGX Congo project.
The central bank said Window A covers money market operations, including liquidity injections and absorption. Window B is reserved for refinancing medium-term loans intended for productive investment.
Under the rules, refinancing through this facility cannot exceed 60% of total project costs, BEAC said. In theory, BSCA Bank could have sought up to 120 billion CFA francs for the project. However, the bank requested 95 billion CFA francs, as Trident OGX Congo is expected to provide 105 billion CFA francs, according to official information.
BEAC’s Monetary Policy Committee approved the full 95 billion CFA francs at its Dec. 15, 2025 meeting. The refinancing will be provided at the main policy rate (TIAO), which rose to 4.75% from 4.5% after the Dec. 15 session. The funding will have a five-year maturity and no grace period.
BEAC’s decision enables CCA Bank to take part in a major mining project in Congo and expand its footprint across the CEMAC region. According to authorised sources, the lender is also part of a group of five local banks selected to finance the construction and operation of the Grand Zambi iron ore mine by Cameroonian company G-Stone, owned by billionaire Dieudonne Bougne. CCA Bank is expected to inject 4.1 billion CFA francs into that project, also using the central bank’s special refinancing window.
Growth and market position
Founded in 1997 in Bafoussam, CCA Bank began operating in 1998 as a savings and credit cooperative. It obtained a second-category microfinance licence in July 2001 and gradually expanded into a universal bank in May 2018, following approvals from national and regional monetary authorities.
CCA Bank is the eighth-largest bank among Cameroon’s 19 active institutions by outstanding loans, with a 6.17% market share. It ranks fourth by deposits, with an 8.05% market share as of March 31, 2025.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, the bank’s total assets stood at 837 billion CFA francs. Net banking income was 53.6 billion CFA francs, while net profit reached 19.1 billion CFA francs, up 46.7% from 2023.
Brice R. Mbodiam