Access Bank Cameroon ended September 2026 with a smaller balance sheet than it had a month earlier. Total assets fell from CFA501.418 billion at the end of August to CFA465.105 billion on 30 September, a drop of CFA36.313 billion, or 7.2%, according to the bank's published monthly financial statements as reported by Business in Cameroon on 19 October.
Over the same month, the money the bank lends to its customers hardly changed. Total customer financing rose by CFA351 million, or 0.4%, to CFA86.356 billion.
The fall needs some perspective. Even after September, total assets were still CFA36.156 billion (8.4%) above their end-May level, Business in Cameroon noted. The bank had grown quickly over the summer and gave back part of that growth in a single month.
Where Access Bank Cameroon's balance sheet shrank
Most of the decline came from money placed with other banks and in securities, not from customers.
- Other interbank and demand treasury operations fell from CFA145.417 billion to CFA89.159 billion, down 38.7%.
- Investment securities fell from CFA199.150 billion to CFA185.142 billion, down 7%.
On the other side of the balance sheet, interbank balances the bank owes fell from CFA81.698 billion to CFA51.884 billion, a 36.5% drop. Put simply, the bank appears to have used part of its cash held at other banks to pay down what it owed to other banks. That kind of move shrinks a balance sheet without any money being lost.
Business in Cameroon made the same point: a fall in total assets does not mean the bank lost CFA36 billion. The statements do not say why the interbank positions were cut.
A sharp jump in fixed assets
One line moved the other way. Fixed assets rose from CFA60.836 billion to CFA88.213 billion, an increase of about 45%. They now make up nearly 19% of total assets, against 12.1% at the end of August.
That is a large share for a commercial bank, whose main business is lending and holding liquid assets. The monthly statements do not show whether the increase came from buying buildings or equipment, or from an accounting reclassification. Either explanation is possible for a bank still absorbing a takeover.
What changed for depositors
Customer deposits fell from CFA361.950 billion to CFA352.065 billion, down 2.7%. The decline came from current accounts. Demand deposits dropped by CFA13.345 billion to CFA298.513 billion.
Term deposits went the other way, rising by CFA5.760 billion to CFA50.652 billion. Some customers, in other words, locked money away for fixed periods even as others drew down their current accounts.
For ordinary depositors, a 2.7% monthly dip is not a warning sign on its own. Deposits of CFA352 billion are about four times the bank's CFA86 billion in customer financing, so the loan book is not funded by borrowing from other banks.
Provisions for risks rose from CFA23.881 billion to CFA26.860 billion, up 12.5%. The statements do not say which risks these provisions cover. As Business in Cameroon cautioned, the rise alone does not show that loan quality has worsened.
What changed for borrowers
Direct loans to customers rose from CFA64.372 billion to CFA65.487 billion, up 1.7%. Beneath that small change, the mix shifted.
- Medium-term loans rose by CFA6.519 billion to CFA58.045 billion.
- Short-term loans fell by CFA5.404 billion to CFA7.442 billion.
The bank is lending over longer periods and cutting back on short credit lines, which businesses typically use for working capital and stock. A small trader looking for a few months of cash-flow finance would find that part of the loan book contracting.
Total customer financing, which adds overdrawn customer accounts (CFA20.869 billion) to direct loans, now equals 18.6% of the balance sheet, up from 17.2%. That rise mostly reflects the smaller total, not more lending. Less than one franc in five on the balance sheet is lent to customers. Nearly 40% sits in securities.
Where customer money ends up is a recurring question in Cameroon's financial sector. CBR recently reported how Orange Money and MTN MoMo earned CFA21.5 billion in interest on users' funds held in banks in 2025.
A bank still settling after the Standard Chartered deal
Access Bank Cameroon is a subsidiary of Nigeria's Access Bank. It took over Standard Chartered's Cameroon business in a deal that closed on 5 December 2025, according to a Standard Chartered statement reported by Business in Cameroon. The CEMAC Commission had approved the acquisition in June 2024.
Standard Chartered received $29 million (about CFA16.3 billion) from the sale, according to its 2025 financial statements, Business in Cameroon reported on 15 October. Standard Chartered no longer runs branches in Cameroon and directs former customers to Access Bank Cameroon.
The scale of the change is clear from earlier figures. Before the deal closed, Access Bank Cameroon reported 2024 deposits of CFA146 billion and customer loans of CFA17 billion, according to the same December 2025 report. Its deposits are now more than twice that level.
Questions the statements leave open
Monthly statements give numbers without explanation. Several points remain unclear.
- Why did the bank cut its interbank lending and borrowing so sharply in one month?
- What accounts for the CFA27.377 billion rise in fixed assets?
- Which risks do the higher provisions cover?
- Will the bank lend more of its deposit base to Cameroonian businesses and households, or keep most of it in securities?
The October statements should show whether September was a one-off clean-up of interbank positions or the start of a smaller, more cautious balance sheet.
