Is Niger a major threat to West African banks?

For six months now, and for the first time in 40 years, Niger has been unable to honour its financial commitments on public securities issued by the West African Monetary Union.

While this is clearly bad news for the country, weakened by the coup d’état of July 2023 orchestrated against President Mohamed Bazoum, it isn’t great for Niger’s neighbours either. Its financial precarity risks compromising the stability of banking institutions in the rest of West Africa – according to analysis this month by United States credit rating agency Moody’s.