Emprunts supposés dissimulés : Les "clarifications" du ministère des Finances
The Ministry of Finance and Budget stepped in on Tuesday to provide clarification. Indeed, in an article published Monday, the Financial Times reported that the Senegalese government had taken out loans totaling $650 million through Total Return Swaps (TRS) instruments. These loans were allegedly concealed. In a press release issued Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance and Budget offered its version of events.
He states that the aforementioned operations are part of a strategy to diversify the sources and instruments of resource mobilization, within an international context marked by increasingly restrictive market access conditions. "Faced with this context, a thorough analysis of this instrument was conducted for its operationalization on the local financial market in 2025," he indicates.
Then, the Minister of Finance explained that the use of TRS (Regional Treasury Securities) is part of a policy to broaden the investor base within the regional financial market by attracting foreign investors to deepen the domestic market and improve its liquidity. "These leading investors generally have foreign exchange access requirements to obtain local currency for subscribing to government securities, as well as foreign currency to repatriate interest payments and maintain the value of their portfolios. The structure implemented takes these requirements into account while managing the risk for the State," Cheikh Diba and his team asserted.
The conditions, the rates and so on…
They assert in their press release that the borrowing conditions are much more advantageous. "The net rate borne was approximately 7.1%, which was significantly lower than rates on international markets, particularly those of the Eurobond markets, whose average yield levels for the year were 12% and 11% on euro bonds (respectively EUR 2028 and EUR 2037) in 2025," the Ministry of Finance indicates.
He therefore asserts that these financing operations have generated substantial savings for the public treasury. They were conducted, he says, on the public securities market as part of seven operations between April and November 2025, in accordance with the issuance schedule and consistent with the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy and in compliance with parliamentary authorization.
Indeed, the Ministry of Finance explains that this financing takes the form of government bond issues carried out through auctions on the public securities market. The results of these operations are published after each issue, in accordance with market transparency rules.
The cover-up theory
The department also specifies that "the communication from the Minister of Finance and Budget to the National Assembly on November 29, 2025, proves, if necessary, the absence of concealment and the transparency surrounding the use of this instrument." Furthermore, it emphasizes that the use of TRS (Tax-Reducing Securities), within the framework of issuances on the public securities market, was mentioned in the economic and financial report annexed to the 2026 Finance Law.
Also, to further dispel suspicions of concealment, the Ministry of Finance assures that the execution of the 2025 financing plan has been the subject of regular sharing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with which, it says, "several written exchanges as well as meetings have focused on the details of financing mobilizations, including TRS operations."
He adds that all of these operations have been structured in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework, consistent with the 2025 financing plan, as presented in the finance law.
The use of the $650 million
What about the use of these funds? "The amounts mobilized were allocated to the execution of the State budget for the 2025 financial year. These amounts mobilized within the framework of the execution of the 2025 financing plan were used exclusively to cover the needs of said plan and cannot in any way address those of the 2026 financial year, which are being supported within the framework of the execution of the 2026 financing plan. Indeed, it is common knowledge that the Eurobond maturity to which the article refers was honored in March 2026," says the ministry.
He affirms that Senegal remains fully committed to pursuing prudent, transparent, and responsible management of its public debt, while maintaining a regular and constructive dialogue with its technical and financial partners, such as the IMF. This is done in accordance with established frameworks for exchange. Regarding the use of Treasury Bonds (TBS), he states that it is part of "a coherent, controlled, and deliberate approach with transparent communication to partners and the national assembly."
Commentaires (11)
Participer à la Discussion
Règles de la communauté :
💡 Astuce : Utilisez des emojis depuis votre téléphone ou le module emoji ci-dessous. Cliquez sur GIF pour ajouter un GIF animé. Collez un lien X/Twitter, TikTok ou Instagram pour l'afficher automatiquement.