Analyse de la demande de crédit du secteur privé dans l’UEMOA :[Credit demand for the private sector in WAEMU]

Our study is one of the first studies on the WAEMU area to focus on the credit channel. Indeed, an investigation of the credit demand is relevant, because credit to the private sector is increasing as a share of the money supply counterparties and the role of banks in the financial system. To this end, we relate in a cointegrating long-term relationship, credit to the private sector with variables such as real GDP, real interest rate and inflation. For the whole area, inflation does not seem to be a critical variable in this relationship and the interest rate appears with a positive sign against all odds. The estimation of the dynamic equation shows a convergence of demand for real credit to the long-term equilibrium. Moreover, by applying the model to Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, two major countries in the region, only Côte d'Ivoire shows heterogeneity. GDP elasticity decreases when we move from the period before the devaluation after devaluation. This can be explained by the use of other forms of financing in Côte d’Ivoire. Monetary authority should therefore take into account this heterogeneity, when formulating economic policy on private sector credit.