The principal laws and regulations governing the banking sector are:

• the Framework law on banking regulation (BCEAO) (Loi cadre portant réglementation bancaire (BCEAO));
• Law 2008-26 of 28 July 2008 on banking regulation (Loi 2008-26 du 28 juillet 2008 portant réglementation bancaire, hereinafter the “Law of 2008”); and
• the Collective Agreement on Banks and Financial Institutions in Senegal (Convention collective des banques et établissements financiers au Sénégal).

The regulator responsible for supervising banks in Senegal is the Banque Centrale des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest (the Main Agency of the Central Bank of West African States) (hereinafter the “Central Bank” or the BCEAO).

All these texts are currently being revised to produce a new banking law for the West African Monetary Union (WAMU).

The Authorisation Requirement and the Process for Applying for Authorisation

In Senegal, the banking authorisation regime is regulated by the Law of 2008.

According to this Law, credit institutions can apply for a bank licence or a financial institution licence, which differ slightly in the activities they allow institutions to carry out. Financial institutions are categorised in five different categories, namely:

• Category 1: financial lending institutions;
• Category 2: financial institutions for leasing or rental with call option;
• Category 3: financial factoring institutions;
• Category 4: financial institutions providing guarantees; and
• Category 5: financial payment institutions.

In general, banks may carry out the classic banking operations, namely the receipt of funds from the public, credit operations, the provision to customers and the management of payment methods. Financial institutions are allowed to carry out only the activities for which they are classified and may not carry out activities from another category without a preliminary approval (Article 17, Law of 2008).

In addition, credit institutions are authorised to carry out the following activities and services:

• transactions in gold and precious metals;
• manual or scriptural exchange operations;
• investment transactions;
• advisory and assistance transactions in financial management, asset management, management and investment of securities and financial products, financial engineering transactions, simple leasing of movable or immovable property by financial institutions; and
• intermediary operations as commission agents and brokers (Article 9, Law of 2008).

Regarding the approval process, applications for authorisation are submitted to the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank, which examine them with regard to the conditions and obligations provided for by the Law of 2008 (Article 15). The Central Bank examines, in particular, the firm’s programme of activities, the financial and technical resources, the plan of development of the network of branches, agencies and counters, as well as the firm’s capacity to realise its development goals. The Central Bank also receives all the information on the status of the persons who have provided the capital, as well as on the fitness and experience of the persons responsible for managing and directing the firm.

The approval is issued by order of the Minister of Finance, after approval by the Banking Commission of the WAMU. If, after a period of six months from the application to the Central Bank, it has not taken a position on the request, the approval is deemed to have been refused (Article 16, Law of 2008). If given, the approval is registered on the list of banks and financial institutions, which was established and is updated by the Banking Commission and published in the Journal Officiel de la République du Sénégal.

Activities and Services Covered, and Restrictions on Licensed Banks’ Activities

Credit institutions are authorised to carry out banking transactions on a regular basis, ie, receive funds from the public, carry out credit transactions, and provide and manage means of payment for customers.

Alongside the general restriction on banking approval, in order for a credit institution authorised in a WAMU member state to open branches or subsidiaries in other member states, it must comply with certain restrictions. Prior to any opening, the institution must notify its intention by means of a declaration addressed to the Banking Commission and deposited with the Central Bank. This declaration is then sent for information to the finance ministers of the home and host countries. (Article 18 of the Law of 2008).

The Central Bank determines the information to be included in the declaration, in particular a detailed presentation of the proposed establishment, which must include information on the planned activities, management, organisational structure, internal control and, if necessary, the constitution of the minimum capital required before commencing activities.

Credit institutions are obliged to comply with a ratio between the various components of their resources and uses of funds, or comply with ceilings or minimums for the amount of certain of their uses of funds, including the conditions under which credit institutions may acquire holdings.

Credit institutions must also comply with management standards in order to guarantee their liquidity, solvency, risk spreading and the balance of their financial structure.

Credit institutions are required to comply with the decisions taken by the WAMU Council of Ministers, the Central Bank and the Banking Commission in the exercise of the powers conferred on them by the Treaty of the West African Monetary Union, the Articles of Association of the Central Bank, the Convention governing the Banking Commission and the Law of 2008.

Subject to individual and temporary derogations granted by the Minister of Finance, banks are prohibited from acquiring their own shares or granting loans against the pledging of their own shares. Banks are prohibited from granting loans directly or indirectly to persons participating in their management, administration, management, control or operation, for an overall amount exceeding a percentage of their effective own funds, to be determined by an instruction of the Central Bank. This prohibition applies to shareholders or partners who each directly or indirectly hold 10% or more of the voting rights in the bank. The same prohibition applies to loans granted to private companies in which the persons referred to above exercise management, administrative or executive functions or hold more than 25% of the share capital.

Common Ancillary Activities of Banks and Additional Authorisation/Requirements (MiFID II, MiCAR)

As stated above, banks may carry out the classic banking operations, namely the receipt of funds from the public, credit operations, the provision to customers and the management of payment methods. Regarding financial institutions, they are allowed to carry out only the activities for which they are classified and may not carry out activities from another category without a preliminary approval (Article 17, Law of 2008).

In addition, credit institutions are authorised to carry out the following activities and services:

• transactions in gold and precious metals;
• manual or scriptural exchange operations;
• investment transactions;
• advisory and assistance transactions in financial management, asset management, management and investment of securities and financial products, financial engineering transactions, simple leasing of movable or immovable property by financial institutions; and
• intermediary operations as commission agents and brokers (Article 9, Law of 2008).

On the regional financial market, discretionary management activities, in particular private management and collective management carried out by credit institutions, are subject to special authorisation issued by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Financial Markets Authority (AMF-UEMOA).

WAMU banks are also authorised to operate as account keepers and securities clearing houses (teneur de compte et de compensateur) on behalf of their customers. These activities are subject to authorisation and supervision by the AMF-UEMOA.

However, cryptocurrency activities are not yet explicitly authorised in Senegal, and banks are not authorised to carry them out. Nor is there currently any legislation governing cryptocurrency activities in Senegal.

Obtaining a European Passport (Branches, Cross-Border Services)

The Law of 2008 does not mention obtaining a European passport to provide cross-border services, to open branches or generally exercise banking activities in Senegal.

When a foreign entity wishes to carry out banking or auxiliary activities, particularly on the regional financial market, it must obtain authorisation to do so.

However, no person may direct, administer or manage a credit institution or one of its branches if they do not have Senegalese nationality or that of a WAMU member state, unless they enjoy assimilation to Senegalese nationals by virtue of an establishment agreement. The Minister of Finance may grant individual exemptions, with the approval of the Banking Commission. Executives for whom a waiver is sought must hold at least a Master’s degree or an equivalent diploma and have at least five years’ professional experience in banking, finance or any other area of expertise deemed compatible with the duties envisaged. Any manager or director who has obtained a waiver of the nationality requirement to work in a credit institution in a WAMU member state is not required to apply for a new waiver when changing position, institution or country.

The Nature of Regulatory Filings and Ongoing Requirements

During the life of a bank, operations that have a significant impact on its shareholder structure are governed by Articles 39 to 41 of the Law of 2008.

To this end, merger operations by absorption or creation of a new company or demerger are subject to prior authorisation by the Minister of Finance, after approval by the Banking Commission. Moreover, under Article 39, any acquisition or transfer of a holding that would have the effect of raising the holding of any one person (directly or through an intermediary) or of any group of persons acting in concert, first above the blocking minority, then above the majority of voting rights in the credit institution, is subject to the same obligation of prior authorisation by the Minister of Finance; also, any acquisition or transfer of a holding that would have the effect of lowering the holding below those thresholds is subject to the same requirement.

In addition, banks and financial institutions with their registered office abroad are required to notify the Banking Commission of any operation referred to above that concerns them.

Pursuant to Article 2 of Instruction No 19-12-2011 of 27 December 2011 establishing the list of Documents and Information Constituting the Prior Authorisation File for the Modification of the Shareholding Structure of Credit Institutions (the “Instruction”), the prior authorisation file must be submitted in four copies to central bank of the member state in which the credit institution is located, following the format provided for in Annex 2 of the Instruction, and it must include a written request addressed to the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Senegal, as well as the documents and information listed in Annex 1 of the Instruction.

The application for prior authorisation, which is processed in the same way as for authorisation, is addressed to the Minister of Finance and filed with the National Directorate of the BCEAO. Authorisation from the Minister of Finance, after receiving the assent of the Banking Commission, is required before the planned operation is carried out.

The Nature of the Ongoing Requirements Towards the Supervisor

The nature of the ongoing requirements towards the supervisor refers to the ongoing obligations that a financial institution must meet vis-à-vis the supervisory authority, in this case the Central Bank or the Banking Commission, as part of its operations. These requirements are in place to guarantee the stability, transparency and compliance of financial activities with the regulations in force.

Credit institutions are required to submit regular financial and operational reports to enable the supervisor to monitor their financial health.

They must also comply with the laws and regulations in force, including rules on governance, risk management and customer protection.

In addition, banks must maintain sound internal control systems to prevent the risk of failure and protect depositors and the financial system in general.

Lastly, the supervisory authorities may carry out audits or inspections to verify the institution’s compliance with regulatory requirements.

Under Senegalese legislation, corporate governance requirements are also regulated by the Law of 2008.

The following conditions apply to banks.

• Banks may be incorporated in two legal forms, namely as:
1. public limited companies with fixed capital (société anonyme); or
2. co-operative or mutual companies with variable capital after special authorisation by the Minister of Finance.
• They cannot take the form of a one-person company.
• Exceptionally, they may take the form of other legal entities.
• They must have their registered office in the territory of one of the member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

The following conditions apply to financial institutions.

• Financial institutions may be incorporated as:
1. public limited companies with fixed capital;
2. limited liability companies (société anonyme); or
3. co-operative or mutual companies with variable capital.
• They cannot take the form of a one-person company.
• They must have their registered office in the territory of one of the member states of the WAEMU.

Under Senegalese law, credit institutions are required to establish a corporate governance mechanism in line with good practice and adapted to their size, their structure, and the nature and complexity of their activities (Article 4 of Circular No 01-2017/CB/C of 27 September 2017 relating to the Governance of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies in the WAEMU).

The registration and oversight of directors and senior management is generally regulated by the Law of 2008 and more specifically by Circular No 02-2017/CB/C of 27 September 2017 on the Conditions of Exercise of the Functions of Directors and Officers in Credit Institutions and Financial Companies of the WAEMU.

The provisions of the Law of 2008 regulate the status of directors and require the directors to be of Senegalese nationality or of the nationality of one of the other member states of the WAEMU.

However, the Minister of Finance may, on advice of the Banking Commission, grant individual exemptions to the nationality requirement. In such a case, a director must hold at least a Master’s degree or an equivalent diploma and must have at least five years of professional experience in the banking sector, finance sector or any other field relevant to the functions envisaged (Article 24, Law of 2008).

In order to obtain an individual exemption to the nationality requirement, the credit institution must send to the Minister of Finance a request for approval specifying:

• the full identity and nationality of the person for whom the exemption is requested;
• the relevant position;
• the reason for using a non-WAEMU national to fill the position; and
• for the profiles of management positions other than chief executive officer and deputy chief executive officer, a formal indication by the credit institution that the proposed employment contract does not raise any objections from the national employment authorities.

The request sent to the National Directorate of the BCEAO must contain the following documents:

• an extract from the criminal record of the person concerned;
• a declaration on honour;
• official documents establishing the identity and nationality of the person concerned;
• a detailed curriculum vitae indicating the training received and the acquisition of at least five years’ professional experience in the field of banking, finance or any other field of competence deemed compatible with the duties envisaged;
• the precise addresses of previous employers;
• copies of the required diplomas;
• the draft employment contract for executives, except for the chief executive officer and the deputy chief executive officer; and
• a conflict of interest declaration.

Persons involved in the direction, administration, management, control or operation of credit institutions are bound by professional banking secrecy (Article 30).

The Individuals Subject to the Remuneration Requirements

Under Senegalese law, employees of banks are bound by the provisions of the Senegalese Labour Code and the provisions of the Interprofessional National Collective Agreement, as well as by the specific provisions of the Collective Agreement on Banks and Financial Institutions in Senegal.

In fact, under Senegalese labour law, employees are classified into different categories, which correspond to different remuneration scales. The Collective Agreement on Banks and Financial Institutions provides for specific classifications of bank employees according to the job they hold. As such, bank employees are classified into:

• workers and employees, further classified into seven different subcategories;
• agents, classified into four subcategories; and
• executives, classified into four subcategories.

Relevant Remuneration Principles

Depending on the category into which the bank or financial institution employee is classified, a specific remuneration is provided for by the Ministry of Labour, which sets up the categorical salary scales in the private sector. The basic salaries provided for by the Ministry for the different categories are mandatory and cannot be reduced by the employer.

Diversity Requirements

There is no specific legislation on diversity on bank boards of directors, the role of women in bank management, equity and inclusion, or even on gender, ethnicity and sexuality. However, some banks include provisions in their internal policies to promote or eradicate certain issues that affect diversity within these companies.

The Bankers’ Oath or Equivalent Binding Rules of Conduct for Bank Employees

Articles 26, 27 and 28 of Law of 2008 establish strict prohibitions and rules of conduct for managers and employees of credit institutions, similar to an oath of probity. The purpose of these provisions is to prevent anyone convicted of serious crimes (such as forgery, fraud, corruption or money laundering) from holding a management or executive position in a credit institution.

• Prohibitions for managers (Article 26): any conviction for serious offences (eg, forgery, breach of trust, corruption) automatically entails:
1. a ban on directing, administering or managing a credit institution;
2. a ban on providing or offering financial services to the public; and
3. a ban on acquiring an interest in the capital of a credit institution.

These prohibitions also apply to foreign convictions and any complicity or attempt to commit similar offences.

• Penalties for non-compliance (Article 27): anyone who contravenes these prohibitions is liable to one to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of XOF10-25 million.
• Prohibitions on employment in a bank (Article 28): any person convicted of the stated offences may not be employed in a credit institution. Failure to comply with this prohibition exposes the employee to the penalties set out in Article 27 and the employer to a fine of between XOF25-50 million.

These rules impose irreproachable conduct on bank managers and employees, with the aim of guaranteeing the reliability and integrity of credit institutions.

The legislation in force in Senegal against money laundering is composed of national laws and community and international standards. In this regard, it should be noted that the reference national law in this regard is Law No 2018/03 of 23 February 2018 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, which transposes into domestic law the Uniform Anti-Money Laundering Bill adopted by Decision No 26/CM/WAEMU of 2 July 2015 (the “AML/CFT Law”).

Persons subject to AML/CFT obligations are listed in Articles 5 and 6 of the AML/CFT Law, including financial institutions.

The AML/CFT Law introduced a risk-based approach, requiring financial institutions to have policies of procedures and internal controls to effectively mitigate and manage AML/CFT risks. Articles 23 and 24 of the AML/CFT Law impose several obligations, including:

• the centralisation and retention of information on the identity of customers, principals, agents and beneficial owners;
• the monitoring of suspicious transactions;
• the appointment of internal managers responsible for the application of anti-money laundering programmes;
• the continuous training of personnel;
• the implementation of an internal control system for the effective application and effectiveness of the measures adopted to control risks; and
• the implementation of measures relating to the detection of unusual or suspicious transactions and compliance with the obligation to report suspicions to the National Financial Intelligence Processing Unit.

In addition to the obligations listed above, banks have an obligation of vigilance with respect to their customers. Indeed, the law obliges banks to have up-to-date knowledge of all their customers, including their income and assets, and to monitor their operations. In this respect, Article 18 of the AML/CFT Law provides the following: “Before entering into a business relationship with a customer or assisting them in the preparation or execution of a transaction, the persons mentioned in Articles 5 and 6 of this Law shall identify the customer and, where applicable, the beneficial owner of the business relationship by appropriate means and shall verify these identification elements on presentation of any reliable written document.” Article 19 of the AML/CFT Law provides the following: “Before entering into a business relationship with a customer, the persons referred to in Articles 5 and 6 of this Law shall collect and analyse the items of information, from among those included in the list drawn up for this purpose by the supervisory authority, that are necessary for the knowledge of their customer as well as the purpose and nature of the business relationship, in order to assess the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.”

In addition, financial institutions, when entering into a business relationship or conducting transactions with or on behalf of foreign politically exposed persons (PEPs), are required to take specific measures to:

• implement adequate and appropriate risk-based procedures to determine whether the customer or a beneficial owner of the customer is a PEP;
• obtain authorisation from the appropriate level of management before entering into a business relationship with the customer;
• take any appropriate risk-based measures to establish the origin of the assets and the source of the funds involved in the business relationship or transaction; and
• ensure enhanced ongoing monitoring of the business relationship.

Lastly, financial institutions are required to identify and assess the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing, which may result from:

• the development of new products and business practices, including new distribution methods; and
• the use of new or emerging technologies, related to new or existing products (Article 37 of the AML/CFT Law).

Failure to comply with these procedures exposes the institution to the administrative, disciplinary and criminal sanctions provided for in Articles 112 et seq of the AML/CFT Law.

The Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS) in the WAEMU, including Senegal, is governed by the 2008 Banking Act and by specific WAEMU decisions, in particular Decision No 088-03-2014 of 21 March 2014, the Articles of Association of the Depositors’ Guarantee Fund (FGD), and Decision No 009 of 30 June 2017/CM/UEMOA. These texts define the membership, financing and compensation arrangements for depositors in the event of bank failure.

Creation and Operation of the FGD (Decision No 088-03-2014)

This Decision establishes the FGD, responsible for protecting savers in the event of the failure of a banking institution, thereby strengthening financial stability and confidence in the WAMU banking system.

The FGD’s mission is to compensate depositors while contributing to the stability of the banking sector.

Compulsory Membership and Contributions

All credit institutions authorised in the WAMU are required to join the FGD and to contribute financially to the FGD through periodic contributions, defined according to their size, their risk profile and the rules established by the FGD.

Contribution Rate and Compensation Limit (Decision No 009-2017)

Decision No 009-2017 sets the annual contribution rate for members to feed the FGD, ensuring that the fund has sufficient resources to cover deposits in the event of a banking crisis.

It also defines the compensation ceiling per depositor in the event of default, guaranteeing the protection of deposits up to a certain limit in order to cover mainly small savers.

Depositor Protection and Compensation

In the event of an institution’s failure, the FGD compensates depositors up to the set limit, in accordance with the conditions set out in the regulations. Banks are also required to inform their customers about the cover offered by the FGD.

These FGD requirements aim to protect depositors and ensure the resilience of the WAEMU banking sector. They impose proactive risk management and transparency obligations on institutions, thereby strengthening customer confidence and the overall financial stability of the Union.

Senegal is no exception to other countries with respect to bank secrecy, to which licensed credit institutions in Senegal are bound. Hence, bank secrecy requirements are regulated in Senegal, and the provisions are mainly provided for in the Law of 2008.

As such, the persons in charge of the management, administration, control or operation of credit institutions are bound by bank secrecy. Such persons are, more precisely, prohibited from disclosing any confidential information of which they have knowledge in the course of their activity, in order to conduct directly or indirectly operations for their own account or to benefit others (Article 30, Law of 2008).

That being said, bank secrecy is not enforceable against the Banking Commission, the Central Bank or a judicial authority acting in the context of criminal proceedings (Article 53, Law of 2008).

According to the above-mentioned provisions, a breach of bank secrecy, for banks, shall be sanctioned by a fine of XOF51-150 million and, for financial institutions, by a fine of XOF16-60 million.

A breach of confidential information of which the above-mentioned persons have knowledge in the course of their activity is sanctioned by imprisonment of one month to two years and/or a fine of XOD10-100 million. In the event of a repeated offence, the maximum penalty will be increased to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of XOF300 million.

The prudential system completes the Law of 2008. This prudential system was adopted by the WAEMU Council of Ministers on the proposal of the BCEAO, pursuant to Article 44 of the Banking Law.

In Senegal, in addition to the Law of 2008, Decision No 013-24-06/CM/WAEMU relating to the prudential framework applicable to credit institutions (the “Decision”) is intended to establish a prudential framework in force within the WAEMU and in particular in Senegal.

The preamble to the Decision states that the WAEMU community framework, and in particular the minimum capital requirements according to risks (credit, operational, market), are based on the Basel II and Basel III rules, and the Basel rules have been transposed taking into account the characteristics of the economies and specificities of the WAEMU banking system.

It consists of a series of provisions organised around three themes:

• the conditions for exercising the profession (minimum capital and its representation, special reserve, accounting regulations);
• the regulation of specific operations (shareholdings, fixed assets, loans to main shareholders, managers and shareholders, managers and staff); and
• management standards (coverage of risks by effective equity capital, of medium and long-term assets by stable resources, division of risks, liquidity rules, structure of liquidity rules, portfolio structure).

Among the requirements of the prudential system is the integration of operational risk into the process of supervising credit institutions. In this respect, the Banking Commission has proposed two approaches to the evaluation of operational risks based on weightings applied to an institution’s net banking income. These weights are identical to those defined by the Basel Committee, namely 15% for the basic approach and a level varying between 12% and 18% for the standard approach.

Among other things, it requires institutions wishing to use the standard approach to set up an operational risk management function with strong involvement of the executive body, which defines the roles and responsibilities of each player.

In the area of credit risk, the precise assessment of risk under the standard approach is based primarily on the counterparty weightings set by the French banking commission, which is the ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution). These weightings depend on the ratings established by External Credit Assessment Institutions or rating agencies. In addition, the Annex to the Decision also provides for the reinforcement of the core capital to be mobilised by the banks under Pillar 1 requirements (minimum capital requirements). Banks must hold a level of core capital corresponding to a minimum threshold of 5% of the amount of their exposure to credit, market and operational risks. This ratio is reinforced by the introduction of a conservation buffer established at a maximum level of 2.5% of the bank’s total exposure to risk, following the example of the threshold defined by Basel III.

By the end of2022, WAEMU banks had to meet a minimum common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 7.5% and a minimum total capital ratio of 11.5%, both inclusive of a 2.5% capital conservation buffer.

Regarding the thresholds of banks’ share capital, Decision No 003 of 30/03/2015/CM/WAEMU fixing the minimum share capital of credit institutions of the member states of the WAEMU has set the minimum share capital of credit institutions of the member states of the WAEMU at XOF10 billion for banks and XOF3 billion for financial institutions of a banking nature.

Article 36 of the Law of 2008 stipulates that banks and financial institutions must at all times have equity capital at least equal to the minimum capital determined under Article 34.

The legal and regulatory framework governing the insolvency, recovery and resolution of banks is in general governed by the OHADA Uniform Act on the Organization of Collective Procedures (the “Uniform Act”) and more specifically by the Law of 2008.

The Uniform Act specifically organises three procedures for dealing with companies in difficulty: preventive settlement, judicial recovery and liquidation of assets.

Preventive settlement is a procedure intended to avoid the insolvency or closure of business and to enable the discharge of the company’s liabilities by means of a preventive composition agreement. This procedure is applicable to any person who, whatever the nature of their debts, is in a difficult but not in an irremediably compromised economic and financial situation and thus allows the company to be exempted from the payment of most of its debts in order to prepare a recovery plan for the company.

The procedures of judicial recovery and liquidation of assets presuppose the cessation of payments of the company. There is a cessation of payments when “the debtor is unable to meet its current liabilities with its available assets”. Judicial recovery is a procedure designed to safeguard the company and for it to pay off its liabilities. In order to implement this procedure, the company must be likely to be saved. The liquidation of assets is a procedure whose purpose is to realise the debtor’s assets in order to pay off its liabilities. The purpose of the liquidation of assets is to ensure the best possible payment of the creditors of the company that is to disappear.

The procedures of preventive settlement, judicial recovery and liquidation of assets instituted by the Uniform Act can only be opened against a credit institution after the assent of the Banking Commission (Article 88, Law of 2008).

Regarding the procedure of liquidation of assets, in the event of the opening or pronouncement of liquidation proceedings against a credit institution, the Banking Commission shall take a decision on the withdrawal of authorisation and the winding up of the institution.

As for the FSB Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes, there is no evidence of implementation by the Senegalese government of these attributes.

Under Senegalese law, the above-mentioned procedures concern all creditors, regardless of their particular situation (employees, preferential creditors, unsecured creditors, etc). In this respect, creditors cannot pursue the recovery of their claim against a defaulting debtor by starting an individual procedure. Collective procedures may be imposed on the creditors of a company in difficulty.

In the event of the liquidation of a credit institution, the bank account holders shall be reimbursed immediately after the creditors of legal costs and creditors of super-privileged wages, up to an amount determined by the competent judicial authority on the basis of the available resources (Article 97, Law of 2008). This does not apply to deposits of credit and other financial institutions.

As DORA is not applicable in Senegal, there are no banking regulatory requirements related to this EU Regulation.

In Senegal, there are no specific banking regulatory requirements relating to ESG matters. Although no specific banking regulatory requirements are provided for under Senegalese legislation, credit institutions are encouraged to implement or strengthen their ESG responsibility by implementing the international ESG standards. These ESG standards encourage, among other things, the quality of social dialogue, employment of disabled people, transparency of executive remuneration and the fight against corruption.

Banks and financial institutions may, on a voluntary basis, implement ESG requirements adapted to their specific structure and activities.