Côte d’Ivoire: Banks Convert 64.4% of Deposits into Loans in 2025

Côte d’Ivoire’s banking sector collected more than 23,000 billion CFA francs in deposits in 2025, but converted only 14,820 billion CFA francs into customer loans, representing a loan-to-deposit ratio of 64.4%, according to figures reported by Sika Finance.

The figures highlight a significant gap between the resources mobilised by banks and the amount directly channelled into loans to households and businesses. The remaining 35.6% does not necessarily mean that the funds remained idle. Banks can allocate part of their resources to government and corporate securities, interbank placements, liquidity reserves and other financial assets.

The overall ratio also masks major differences between individual banks. Some institutions have adopted a more aggressive lending strategy, directing a large share of their deposits towards customers, while others appear to favour liquidity management and alternative investments.

This divergence makes the 64.4% national ratio an incomplete measure of the banking sector’s contribution to the real economy. The more important question is how effectively the resources collected from depositors are converted into financing for businesses, households and productive investment.

The issue is particularly significant in Côte d’Ivoire, where bank financing remains an important source of capital for companies and investment. Access to credit is also a persistent challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises, which represent a large part of the country’s economic fabric.

For banks, increasing lending must nevertheless be balanced against credit risk, liquidity requirements and the need to maintain financial stability. A lower loan-to-deposit ratio can therefore reflect deliberate risk-management and investment decisions rather than simply a failure to finance the economy.

The 2025 figures nevertheless underline a key feature of Côte d’Ivoire’s financial system: banks are mobilising substantial volumes of savings, but the extent to which those resources are transformed into loans varies considerably from one institution to another.