Political sketch
Formerly Togoland and part of French West Africa. Independent from France on 27 April 1960.
During the 1700s the Danish had forts in Togo. Until 1884, what is now Togo was an intermediate zone between the African states of Ashanti and Dahomey. German missionaries arrived in 1847, and in 1884 many coastal chiefs accepted German protection. Germany extended the boundaries of Togo in 1897 and 1899. In August 1914, at the beginning of the First World War, British and French troops conquered Togo. In 1922 western Togo (British Togoland) became a British League of Nations mandate, and eastern Togo became a French mandate. French Togo became part of French West Africa in 1936. Both territories became United Nations trusteeship territories in 1946. During the Second World War, French West Africa initially adhered to the French government of Vichy, which was something between neutral and allied with Germany, but on 23 November 1943, about two weeks after the Allied invasion of French Morocco and Algeria, it switched allegiance to the Free French government and joined the Allies. In 1956 British Togoland became part of the Gold Coast (later Ghana). French Togoland became an associated territory of the French Union in 1946 and an autonomous republic within the French Union in 1956.
Togo became independent on 27 April 1960, in the great wave of French African colonies that year. It suffered first military coup of former French African colonies on 13 January 1963. General Gnassingbe (originally Étienne) Eyadema came to power in another coup in 1967. The disclosure in April 1991 of killings allegedly by security forces triggered huge antigovernment demonstrations. A national conference challenged Eyadema's dictatorial rule; he survived through a combination of force and trickery, and his forces later murdered opposition leaders. He died on 5 February 2005; his son succeeded him after a troubled election. The main exports are cotton, phosphates coffee, and cocoa. The port of Lomé is a major intermediary for international trade with Burkina Faso.
Wars since 1500
German conquest, 1884-1890s; First World War in West Africa (Germany against United Kingdom and France), August 1914; Togolese Civil War of 1991-1992.
Convertibility
German colonies:
During the First World War, Germany was cut off from its colonies. Germany's African colonies, surrounded as they were by the colonies of Allied countries, were cut off from one another. Therefore convertibility among them in effect ceased in August 1914. All German colonies were conquered during the war; those in Africa were annexed by Belgium, France, South Africa, or the United Kingdom.
The French franc zone:
When the First World War began, France imposed a moratorium of payments on all negotiable instruments starting 1 August 1914. The moratorium was subsequently extended by decrees until 1 March 1915. The central bank, the Bank of France, abandoned the gold standard on 5 August 1914, although no official prohibition on exporting gold existed until by a decree of 3 July 1915, affirmed by a law of 15 November 1915. A decree of 2 April 1918 prohibited capital exports without authorization. A law of 25 June 1928 officially restored the gold standard and repealed exchange controls. When the French franc was an object of currency speculation , a law of 13 August 1936 imposed extensive exchange controls, supplementing some lesser measures that had been implemented in 1935.
France imposed exchange controls on 9 September 1939 by a decree of that date, soon after the Second World War broke out. On 20 May 1940, capital controls within the franc zone were greatly relaxed by a French decree of that date. Exchanges between France and its African colonies were cut off from the time of the Allied invasion of French Morocco and Algeria in November 1942 to about September 1944, by which time the Allies had liberated Paris and the main French port cities. Exchange controls within the franc zone were not removed until 6 June 1946. Afterwards, the CFA franc became convertible both for current- and capital-account transactions within the French franc zone (France, Monaco, And French possessions, including countries using the CFA franc). Outside the French franc zone it became convertible for current-account transactions when France resumed current-account convertibility, but it was not convertible for capital-account transactions. France had multiple exchange rates from 26 January 1948 until 17 October 1948, and a dual exchange rate from 18 October 1948 to 29 September 1949. On 20 September 1949 it devalued the French franc and unified the exchange rate, taking advantage of the lead offered by the United Kingdom, which had devalued the pound sterling on 18 September 1949.
The CFA franc zone:
All independent countries belonging to the CFA franc zone except Mali issued laws or decrees stating that effective 1 July 1967, financial relations with foreign countries were in principle free. Madagascar (then called the Malagasy Republic) issued similar legislation on the same date; Mali waited until 29 March 1968. The CFA franc zone countries were following earlier French legislation (France, Law No. 66-1007, 28 December 1966; Decree No. 67-78, 27 January 1967, effective 31 January 1967). France reintroduced exchange controls on 29 May 1968, during a period of strikes and riots (France, Decree No. 68-481, 29 May 1968). It removed controls on 4 September 1968 (France, Decree No. 68-788, 4 September 1968) but reimposed them on 25 November 1968 (France, Decree No. 68-1021, 24 November 1968) before revoking them on 1 January 1969. The CFA franc zone countries, including Madagascar, all strengthened their exchange controls against countries outside the French franc zone in 1968, following France, and loosened them in January 1969. France introduced a dual exchange rate on 21 August 1971 for itself and its French franc zone territories, which excluded Djibouti (France, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Circulaire du 20 août 1971 relative à l'exécution des transferts à destination de l'étranger, 20 August 1971). The CFA franc zone countries, including Madagascar, followed suit on these dates in 1968: Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville, 28 August; Burkina Faso (then called Upper Volta) and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), 30 August; Gabon and Senegal, 31 August; Mauritania, 1 September; Chad, 3 September; Madagascar and Niger, 4 September; Togo, 7 September; Central African Republic, sometime in September; Benin (then called Dahomey) and Mali, 9 September. All except Madagascar and Mauritania abolished the dual market on 21 March 1974, the same day as France (France, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Circulaire du 20 mars 1974 relative à l'exécution des transferts entre la France et l'étranger sur le marché officiel des changes, 20 March 1974). Madagascar had withdrawn from the French franc zone effective 1 July 1973, and its dual market had ended on that date. Mauritania had introduced a new national currency on 29 June 1973 to replace the CFA franc, and its dual market had ended on that date. The dual exchange rate did not apply to transactions within the French franc zone, so purchases and sales of French francs for CFA francs continued to be made at a single rate, the official rate, which was a pegged rate. Certain purchases and sales of currencies outside the French franc zone had to be made at the so-called financial rate, which was a floating rate.
Reinhart and Rogoff (2002) note a low premium in the dual market from 9 September 1971-20 March 1974 (by my non-overlapping system of dates; 21 March 1974 by their overlapping system). The premium existed because France established a dual rate, and so as not to create loopholes in the French franc zone, the CFA franc countries established dual exchange rates in imitation of France. In light of the problems the CFA franc had for a decade or more before its devaluation of 12 January 1994, it is surprising that their data show low or often no parallel market premium.
The CFA franc zone central banks suspended convertibility of their currencies into the French franc from 2 August 1993-11 January 1994, resuming on 12 January 1994. When the French franc ended its existence as a separate currency on 1 January 1999, the CFA franc became convertible both for current- and capital-account transactions within the former French franc zone (France and its territories, Monaco, and countries using the CFA franc, including the Comoros), but remained convertible only for current-account transactions with other currencies.
Other
The French government established the CFA franc on 26 December 1945. The CFA franc became the unit of account in French colonies in sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas that had previously used a local franc equal to the French franc. Local francs in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco) and Djibouti remained in effect fully attached to the French franc. French colonies in the Pacific established a unit of account called the CFP franc, while Indochina, Syria and Lebanon, and Pondicherry (India) already had currencies that were not called francs. The CFA franc enabled the French government to make exchange rate policy in the colonies different from that in France. When making devaluations of the French franc against gold and the US dollar on 26 December 1945 and 17 October 1948, the French government devalued the CFA franc less, implying a revaluation against the French franc. The meaning of "CFA" was initially Colonies Françaises d'Afrique (colonies of France in Africa). In Africa, the meaning changed when the colonies established central banks in preparation for political independence. CFA came to mean Communauté Financière Africaine (African financial community) for the member countries of the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO, opened 4 April 1959). It came to mean Coopération Financière en Afrique Centrale (financial cooperation in Central Africa) for the member countries of the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale et du Cameroun (BCEAC, also opened 4 April 1959), which since 22 November 1972 has been called the Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC).
Defaults on or restructurings of debt to the private sector (mainly from Purcell and Kaufman 1993 and Standard & Poor's 2004): 1979-1980 (foreign currency bank debt, oil and interest rate shocks), 1982-1984 (foreign currency bank debt), 1988 (foreign currency bank debt), 1991-1997 (foreign currency bank debt).
Reinhart and Tokatlidis (2000: 33) dating of recent financial liberalization: Domestic (notably interest rates) 1989, external (notably foreign-exchange market and participation by foreign financial institutions) 1996.
Banking crises (data since 1970s mainly from Caprio and Klingebiel 1999 and Frydl 1999): 1993-1995.
Frankel and Rose (1996) list of currency crashes: 1981.
References
Primary sources:
--Laws and decrees:
France. Gazette. 1762-present. Gazette de France (1762-1789); Gazette nationale de France (1789-1799); Bulletin des lois (1791-1831; a separate publication); La gazette nationale ou le moniteur universel (1799-1810); Moniteur universel (1811-1848); Moniteur universel: journal officiel de la République française (1848-1852); Journal officiel de l'Empire français (1852-1870); Journal officiel de la République française (1871-1941); Journal officiel de l'État français (Vichy France, 1941-1944); Bulletin officiel des Forces françaises libres (Free France, 1940-1941); Journal officiel de la France libre (Free France, 1941); Journal officiel de la France combattante (Free France, 1941-1943); Journal officiel du Haut commissariat de France en Afrique (Free France, 1943); Journal officiel du Commandement en chef français en Afrique (Free France, 1943); Journal officiel de la République française (Free France, 1943-1944; France, 1944-present). Paris (1762-1940, 1944-present); Vichy (1940-1944); London (Free France, 1941-1943); Algiers (Free France, 1943-1944): Imprimerie des Journaux Officiels (1944?-present). Many issues are in France, Legifrance Web site (see below).
France. Legifrance Web site, <http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr>. Reference site for French treaties, laws, and decrees, including the full text for recent items.
France. Overseas gazette. 1887-1961. Bulletin officiel (1887-1953; new series, 1953-1959); Bulletin officiel de l'administration provisoire des services du Ministère de la France d'Outre-Mer (1959-1961). Issued by Ministère des Colonies (1887-1950); Ministère de la France d'Outre-Mer (1950-1961). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.
French West Africa. Gazette. 1895-1959. Journal officiel de l'Afrique occidentale française. Saint-Louis, Senegal (1895-1905?); Gorée (1905-?); Dakar (?-1959).
Germany. Overseas gazette. 1890-1921. Deutsches Kolonialblatt. Issued by Kolonial-Abtheilung des Auswärtigen Amts (1890-1907); Reichs-Kolonialamt (1907-1919); Reichskolonialministerium (1919-1920); Kolonialzentralverwaltung, Reichsministerium für Wiederaufbau (1920-1921). Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn.
Germany. 1892-1910. Die deutsche Kolonialgesetzgebung. Sammlung der auf die deutschen Schutzgebiete bezüüglichen Gesetze, Verordnungen, Erlasse, und internationale Vereinbarungen mit Anmerkungen und Sachregister. Edited by various persons. Berlin: D. Reimer, later Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn, later Alfred Zimmermann. (The first volume was published in 1898 but covers the period starting in 1892.)
Great Britain (United Kingdom). Gazette. 1665-present. Oxford Gazette (1996-1666); London Gazette (1666-present). Oxford (1665-1666); London (1666-present): His/Her Majesty's Stationery Office from 1903. Online at <http://www.gazettes.online.co.uk>; as of September 2005, gazettes since 1900 are available.
Togo (German). Gazette. 1906-1914. Amtsblatt für das Schutzgebiet Togo. Lomé. (Succeeded by Togoland [French] gazette.)
Togo. Gazette. 1956-present. Journal officiel de la République autonome du Togo (1956-1957); Journal officiel de la République togolaise (1958?-present). Lomé: Cabinet du Président de la République (1958?-present). (Successor to Togoland [French] gazette.)
Togoland (French). Gazette. 1920-1956. Journal officiel des territoires occupés de l'ancien Togo (1920-1922); Journal officiel des territoires du Togo placés sous le mandat de la France (1922-?); Journal officiel du Territoire du Togo placé sous le mandat de la France (?-1956). Lomé. (Sucessor to Togo [German] gazette; succeeded by Togo gazette.)
UEMOA. Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine. 1996-present. Bulletin officiel. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso : Commission UEMOA.
--Publications of monetary authorities:
Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale. Annual report. 1901/1902-1964/1965. Assemblée générale ... procès-verbal et rapport du conseil d'administration. Paris: Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale.
Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale. Bulletin. 1956-1965? Bulletin économique et financier France-Afrique noire. Paris: Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale.
BCEAO. Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Annual report. 1959-present. Rapport d'activité (1959-1989); Rapport annuel (1990-present). Paris (1959-1977); Dakar (1978-present): Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
BCEAO. Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Bulletin. 1959-present. Notes d'information et statistiques. Paris (1959-1978); Dakar (1978-present): Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
IEAOFT. Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo. Annual report. 1955/1956-1958. Rapport d'activité. Paris: Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo.
IEAOFT. Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo. Bulletin. 1956-1959. Notes d'information et statistiques. Paris: Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo.
--Web site of the current monetary authority (viewed 20 September 2005):
<http://www.bceao.int>
--Other publications or Web sites:
Comité Monétaire de la Zone Franc. Secrétariat. 1953-present. Premier [etc.] rapport annuel du Comité de la zone franc établi en exécution du décret du 5 fevrier 1952 (art. 4, §2) (1953-1956); La zone franc en 1957: cinquième rapport annuel du Comité Monétaire de la Zone Franc (1957); La zone franc en ...: rapport publié par le Secrétariat du Comité Monétaire de la Zone Franc (1958-1983); La zone franc: rapport ...: publié par le Secrétariat du Comité Monétaire de la Zone Franc (1984-1991); La zone franc: rappport annuel ...; publié par le Secrétariat du Comité Monétaire de la Zone Franc (1992-2003; inside page says La zone franc en ...); Rapport annuel de la zone franc (2004-present; inside cover says La zone franc: rapport annuel ...). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale (1953-1956); Secrétariat du Comité Monétaire de la Zone Franc (1957-1991; 1957 is a mimeo with no explicit publication information); Banque de France (1992-present). Recent issues are available on the Web site of the Banque de France, <http://www.banque-france.fr/fr/eurosys/zonefr/zonefr.htm>.
France. Commision de Surveillance des Banques Coloniales. 1875-1939. Rapport au président de la république sur les opérations des banques coloniales d'émission pendant l'exercise ... (1873/1874-1936/1937); Rapport au président de la république sur les opérations des banques coloniales d'émission ... (1927/1929-1936/1937). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale.
Main secondary sources:
Alibert, Jacques. 1983. De la vie coloniale au défi international: Banque du Sénégal, BAO, BIAO, 130 ans de banque en Afrique. Paris: Chotard et Associés Éditeurs.
BCEAO. 2000. Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. L'histoire de l'Union monétaire ouest africaine, v. 1 (Des origines à 1958), v. 2 (De 1958 à 1977), v. 3 (Bilan et perspectives). Paris: Georges Israël Éditeur. English translation History of the West African Monetary Union, v. 1 (From the Origins to 1958), v. 2 (1958-1977), v. 3 (Assessments and Prospects). Paris: Georges Israël, 2002.
BCEAO. 2004. Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. "Chronologie des évènements marquants de l'histoire de la BCEAO et de l'UMOA," édition du 30 juin 2004 révisée, at <http://www.bceao.int> (viewed 20 December 2005).
Cornevin, Robert. 1962. Histoire du Togo, 2nd edition. Paris: Berger-Levrault.
Deeken, Matthias. 1913. Das Geldwesen der deutschen Kolonien. Münster in Westfalen, Germany: Druck der Westfälischen Vereinsdruckerei.
Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon. 1920. Edited by Heinrich Schnee, 3 v. Dresden: Quelle und Meyer. Online at <http://www.ub.bildarchiv-dkg.uni-frankfurt.de/dfg-projekt/Bildprojekt/Lexikon/lexikon.htm>, viewed 21 September 2005.
Gérardin, Hubert. 1989, 1994. La zone franc. Tome 1: histoire et institutions. Tome 2: La dynamique de l'intégration monétaire et ses contraintes. Paris: Éditions L'Harmattan.
IMF ARER. 1950-present. International Monetary Fund. Annual Report on Exchange Restrictions (1950-1978), Annual Report on Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions (1979-1988), Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions: Annual Report (1989-present). Washington: International Monetary Fund. (Contains information on IMF member countries and some of their dependencies.)
Monetary authorities: Togo
| Dates | Type | Name | Source | Remarks |
| 1905
-August 1914 |
dollarization | German mark (issued by central bank Deutsche Reichsbank [headquarters Berlin, Germany]) | Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon (1920 v. 3: 497ff., section 14) | The first bank was the Deutsch-Westafrikansche Bank (headquarters Berlin, Germany), in Lomé, in 1905. The bank did not issue notes. There may have been no other banks in this period. |
| August 1914
-31 July 1922 |
dollarization alongside private monopoly issue (as part of a currency union) | West African pound (issued by West African Currency Board [headquarters London, England]) and Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale (headquarters Paris, France) | Cornevin (1962: 246-8); France, decreee of 20 May 1921, cited in Mazard (1953: 82) | The French and British replaced German currency upon conquering Togo during the First World War. The Bank of British West Africa (headquarters London, England) opened an office in Lomé sometime after the conquest occurred, but apparently closed the office when the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale came on the scene. The French decree of 1921 made notes issued by the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale legal tender in Togo. Togoland, the western part of former German Togo, was under British administration and used currency issued by the West African Currency Board. In 1918-1919 the West African Currency Board accepted some German silver marks to be melted down into West African shillings (West African Currency Board annual report, 30 June 1919: 4). |
| 1 August 1922
-30 September 1955 |
private monopoly issue (as part of a currency union) | Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale (headquarters Paris, France) | France, decree of 29 June 1901 (establishing Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale); law of 29 January 1929 (extending its charter for 20 years and introducing minority government ownership); both reprinted in BCEAO (2000, v. 1: 301-3, 380-3); France, decreee of 20 May 1921, cited in Mazard (1953: 82); Cornevin (1962: 246-8) | The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale was established to be the note issuer for all of French West and Equatorial Africa. It opened a branch in Lomé at the start of this period (Alibert 1983: 69). The second French bank was the Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie-Afrique (headquarters Paris, France), on 22 March 1946, in Lomé. The first coins were issued in 1924. Togo (France?), arrêté of 30 September 1930 (cited in Cornevin 1962: 248) forbade the circulation of pound sterling-based currency. In 1922 Togoland was separated from the rest of Togo and attached to the British colony of the Gold Coast (now Ghana). |
| 1 October 1955
-3 April 1959 |
joint monetary institute (as part of a currency union) | Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Occidentale Française et du Togo (IEAOFT) (headquarters Paris, France) | France, Decree No. 55-103, 20 January 1955; Decree No. 55-938, 15 July 1955; interministerial arrêté of 29 September 1955 | France nationalized the note issue in accord with its policy since the 1930s. France, decree of 31 August 1957, transferred the issuance of coins from the French Treasury to the IEAOFT, effective 1 October 1957. Notes for different member countries were issued with different serial number codes to provide a basis for calculating each country's share of seigniorage. |
| 4 April 1959
-31 December 1962 |
joint central bank (as part of a currency union) | Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) (headquarters Paris, France) | France, Ordonnance No. 59-491, 4 April 1959 | The monetary institute was converted into a central bank to prepare for the imminent independence of its members. Notes for different member countries were issued with different serial number codes to provide a basis for calculating each country's share of seigniorage. Togo joined the IMF on 1 August 1962. |
| 1 January 1963
-26 November 1963 |
own central bank (officially: see Remarks; in practice, still part of a currency union) | Banque Centrale du Togo (headquarters Lomé, Togo) | Togo, Law 62-20, 12 December 1962, reprinted in BCEAO (2000, v. 2: 211-16) | Established a national central bank at the instigation of president. The Togolese central bank never had more than a nominal existence and it never issued a distinctive currency (see entry below). |
| 27 November 1963
-present (2005) |
joint central bank (as part of a currency union) | Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) (headquarters Paris, France / Dakar, Senegal from July 1978) | Togo, Law No. 63/16, 21 November 1963; Togo and Union monétaire ouest africaine, membership agreement, Nouakchott, Mauritania, 27 November 1963; both cited in BCEAO (2000, v. 2: 219) | About a month after the law to establish the central bank was passed, the president (Sylvanus Olympio) was assassinated. The new president wished to rejoin the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO). Togo belatedly signed the Traité instituant une Union monétaire ouest-africaine and Accord de coopération entre la République française et les Républiques membres de l'Union monétaire ouest-africaine, which had both been signed by other BCEAO countries in Paris on 12 May 1962. These agreements reduced French influence; it was reduced further by an agreement of 4 December 1973 (see France, Law No. 74-626, 2 July 1974). "Africanization" was completed with the transfer of the central bank's headquarters to Dakar, Senegal. |
Exchange rate arrangements: Togo
| Dates | Official arrangement | Source | Unofficial arrangement, if different | Remarks |
| 1885
-August 1914 |
fixed; used German mark | Togo, German governor's decree (Verordnung), 1 August 1887, in Deutsche Kolonialegesetzgebung, v. 1: 258, cited in Deeken (1913: 8) | Substantial German colonization began in 1884. The 1887 decree also established exchange rates of 20 German marks = UKŁ1 (1 gold sovereign) and 16 German marks = 20 French gold francs. Germany, Currency Decree (Münzverordnung) of 1 February 1905, promulgated locally by a governor's announcement (Bekanntmachung) of 20 February 1907 and effective 1 June 1907, reinforced the primacy of the German mark (Amtsblatt für das Schutzgebiet Togo 1907: 52, cited in Deeken 1913: 27 ). The German mark was a decimal currency. | |
| August 1914
-31 July 1922 |
fixed (as part of a currency union with respect to franc); used West African pound and local French franc issued by Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale | Cornevin (1962: 246-8); France, decreee of 20 May 1921, cited in Mazard (1953: 82) | The French and British replaced German currency upon conquering Togo during the First World War. More precisely, German coins continued to be circulate, but as the German mark depreciated during the course of the First World War, their value as metal exceeded their face value by 1917 and they disappeared into hoards. The French decree of 1921 made notes issued by the Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale legal tender in Togo. French African colonies admitted British coins and in some instances silver Maria Theresa thalers as legal tender up to the mid 1920s, and perhaps later in some cases. Togoland, the western part of former German Togo, was under British administration and used currency issued by the West African Currency Board. The West African pound was not a decimal currency; the French franc was. | |
| 1 August 1922
-22 November 1943 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 1 local franc = 1 French franc | France, decreee of 20 May 1921, cited in Mazard (1953: 82); Alibert (1983: 69); Cornevin (1962: 246-8) | The Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale opened a local branch at the start of this period, so the exchange rate changed from fixed to pegged. The bank was required starting in 1929 to make exchanges between France and West Africa without commission fees other than the actual cost of post office or telegraph costs (France and Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale, agreement of 24 February 1927, article 8, reprinted in BCEAO 2000, v. 1: 378). Legally, local francs in what was to become the CFA franc zone were not separate from the French franc until 26 December 1945. In 1922 Togoland was separated from the rest of Togo and attached to the British colony of the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Togo (France?), decree of 11 October 1923 regulated the use of pound sterling-based currency in French Togo; Togo (France?), arrêté of 30 September 1930 forbade the circulation of pound sterling-based currency (both cited in Cornivin 1962: 247-8). | |
| 23 November 1943
-5 December 1944 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 200 local francs = UKŁ1, or 50 local francs = US$1 | Anglo-Free French agreement of 2 February 1943, cited in Mazard (1953: 106) | By the agreement of 2 February 1943, in many of the areas under its control, the Free French government devalued local francs from pre-Second World War rates based on 176.625 French francs = UKŁ1, or 43.80 French francs = US$1. French West Africa switched allegiance from the Vichy French government to the Free French government on 23 November 1943. | |
| 6 December 1944
-25 December 1945 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 1 local franc = 1 French franc | Anglo-Free French agreement of 8 February 1944, cited in Mazard (1953: 106) | Following the liberation of most of France by the Allies during the Second World War, the metropolitan French franc was devalued to the level of the overseas francs under Free French control (200 local francs = UKŁ1, or 50 local francs = US$1). Doing so in effect restored the French franc as the anchor currency. | |
| 26 December 1945
-16 October 1948 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 1 (West African) CFA franc = 1.70 French francs | France, Decree No. 45-0136, 25 December 1945 | The CFA franc was created at premium from the former 1-to-1 rate of local francs with French franc. The premium offset most of the French franc's devaluation from 50 to 119.10699 French francs = US$1 on 25 December 1945. The revaluation reflected lower wartime economic destruction in the colonies than in France. The new cross rate with the pound sterling was 300 CFA francs = UKŁ1. The name "franc" for the currency came from the French franc. For the meaning of CFA, see the category "Other" in the country information above. | |
| 17 October 1948
-31 December 1959 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 1 (West African) CFA franc = 2 French francs | France, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Avis No. 352 de l'Office des Changes, 17 October 1948 | The CFA franc had followed the French franc's devaluation on 26 January 1948, but this time it was in effect revalued against the French franc to offset almost all of the French franc's devaluation from 214.392 to 264 French francs = US$1 on 17 October 1948. | |
| 1 January 1960
-31 December 1962 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 50 (West African) CFA francs = 1 new French franc | France, Ordonnance No. 58-1341, 27 December 1958; Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Circulaire du 19 novembre 1959 relative au nouveau franc, 19 November 1959; Decree No. 59-1450, 22 December 1959 | France redenominated its franc at 1 new French franc = 100 old French francs. | |
| 1 January 1963
-26 November 1963 |
pegged; 50 Togolese francs = 1 French franc (see Remarks) | Togo, Law No. 62-20, 12 December 1962 | in practice, still part of a currency union | Togo introduced a national currency, equal to the CFA franc. During its brief life the Togolese franc existed only as a unit of account, not as notes or coins. |
| 27 November 1963
-6 September 1971 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 50 (West African) CFA francs = 1 French franc | Togo, Law No. 63/16, 21 November 1963; Togo and Union monétaire ouest africaine, membership agreement, Nouakchott, Mauritania, 27 November 1963 | Togo rejoined the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) and resumed using the CFA franc. Members of the CFA franc zone never registered gold parities with IMF. Gold convertibility for all countries ended in practice when the United States abandoned the gold standard on 15 August 1971. | |
| 7 September 1971
-20 March 1974 |
pegged, dual rate (as part of a currency union); official rate (West African) 50 CFA francs = 1 French franc | IMF ARER (1972: 416) | The second rate, called
the financial rate, was
a managed or perhaps
independent float.
RR: Low parallel market premium. |
Established a dual exchange rate following France's doing so on 21 August 1971. |
| 21 March 1974
-1 August 1993 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 50 (West African) CFA francs = 1 French franc | Togo, regulations issued 12 June 1974, cited in IMF ARER (1975: 466) | RR: Premiums 8-11% March-June 1983. (My comment: this was a period of fear of devaluation.) | The CFA franc zone ended its dual exchange rate the same day as France. The regulations supported the new exchange rate arrangement after the fact. |
| 2 August 1993
-11 January 1994 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 50 (West African) CFA francs = 1 French franc, with restricted convertibility | Conseil des Ministres de l'Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine, decision made 28 July 1993 and announced 2 August 1993, communiqué in BCEAO bulletin, July 1993: no page | Members of the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) ceased redeeming CFA franc notes in circulation outside the CFA franc zone. The policy remains in force today (2005). On 17 December 1993, members of the BCEAO suspended redemption of CFA franc notes issued by the Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC) circulating in BCEAO countries. | |
| 12 January 1994
-31 December 1998 |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 100 (West African) CFA francs = 1 French franc | Conseil des Ministres de l'Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine, communiqué of 17 December 1993, in BCEAO bulletin, December 1993: no page; confirmed by Déclaration commune des chefs d'État et de gouvernement des pays africains membres de la zone UMOA et BEAC, 11 January 1994, in BCEAO bulletin, January 1994: no page; and Conseil des Ministres de l'Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine, communiqué of 11 January 1994, in BCEAO bulletin, January 1994: no page | The CFA franc was devalued after years of bad credit extended by CFA franc zone central banks to government enterprises depleted foreign reserves. Convertibility of the CFA franc into the French franc resumed. | |
| 1 January 1999
-present (2005) |
pegged (as part of a currency union); 655.957 (West African) CFA francs = 1 European euro | Conseil des Ministres de l'Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine, Communiqué de la Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest sur le taux de conversion du franc CFA par rapport à l'euro, 21 December 1998, in BCEAO bulletin, January 1994: no page | The French franc ended its existence as a separate currency, replaced by the European euro. The CFA franc switched to the European euro as its anchor currency, at the prevailing cross rate with the French franc. |