Banking

After decades of turbulence, the Ivoirian banking sector is experiencing something of a renaissance. Like the economy, Côte d’Ivoire’s banking sector was growing robustly until a crisis brought on by enthusiastic lending struck in the early 1980s. Bank defaults during this period cast a long shadow, paving the way for a steady increase over the years in cash transactions. The subsequent unrest of the early millennium slowed banking growth, and in the beginning of 2011, during the most acute period of upheaval, banks closed for several months, with a number of banks temporarily nationalised by the government at the time. This was compounded by financial complications, with balance sheets deteriorating as the economy contracted.