The measures to sharpen Cobac's currently blunt teeth and to bring banking supervision closer to international norms are welcome. However, they will be far from a panacea for the region's banks. Although in generally sound health, CEMAC member countries' banking sectors have shortcomings in common. These include a lack of competition: although 43 is a decent number of banks to be operating across six small countries, typically just three or four larger institutions in each country account for the overwhelming majority of deposits and loans. A related problem is the reluctance of banks to lend to small businesses and individuals-low levels of competition mean that the market leaders can afford to focus on the less risky corporate market.

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The inability of the courts to enforce contracts, combined with a lack of credit-scoring systems and client collateral, also acts to deter lending more widely. However, the focus on large companies is not without its own risks, as many of them are failing parastatals. Some CEMAC governments have put pressure on lenders to prop up sclerotic state-owned entities with credit, to the detriment of the banks. Nonetheless, the trend of recent years in CEMAC countries, including in Chad, has been positive, with both competition and credit to consumers and small firms increasing. In September 2010 (the latest month for which data are available) Chadian banks' lending to the private sector was up by nearly 20% year on year. Nonetheless, the absolute level of outstanding credit, totalling less than CFAfr200bn (just over US$400m), is small given that nominal GDP in 2010 is estimated at nearly US$7bn. In the latest edition of the World Bank's annual survey of the global business environment, Doing Business 2011, Chad was ranked a poor 152nd out of 183 countries and territories surveyed for access to credit. The country scored particularly poorly on the availability of credit information and the enforceability of contracts.