This study describes the financial repression policies — interventionist monetary policy, predominance of state-owned banks and weak prudential regulation — practised until the middle or the end of the 1980s by six sub-Saharan African countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Uganda and Tanzania. These policies resulted in the accumulation of non-performing loans, privileged government financing and breakdown of bank-controlled payment systems. They also prevented growth of financial intermediation in the banking system. In order to correct these malfunctions, the governments concerned liberalised the financial sector, softened their monetary policies, restructured the banks and adopted new prudential regulation within the context of structural adjustment plans recommended by the Bretton Wood institutions.

The result of these reforms has been mixed. While the majority of the banks which were not liquidated have regained solvency, they have not become involved in long-term ...