Cross-border crisis simulation exercise in Northwest Africa

• The Financial Stability Institute conducted a crisis simulation exercise involving authorities from jurisdictions in Northwest Africa.
• Together, they worked to manage the simulated failure of a fictional regionally systemic cross-border banking group.
• Based on the exercise's findings, the report provides targeted recommendations to enhance crisis management frameworks and practices.

In February 2025, financial authorities from jurisdictions in northwest Africa took part in a crisis simulation exercise (CSE) designed to test their readiness to manage a bank failure.

Participants included central banks, supervisory authorities, resolution authorities and deposit insurers from Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia and the West African Monetary Union, whose member countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Together, they worked to manage the simulated failure of a fictional regionally systemic cross-border banking group with critical functions in each jurisdiction.

The primary objective of the CSE was to provide the authorities with an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of their crisis management frameworks and cross-border cooperative arrangements, while also identifying areas for improvement.

The report outlines key findings and offers recommendations on topics such as resolution frameworks and tools, cross-border collaboration and domestic coordination.

JEL classification: G01, G21, G28, G33

Keywords: crisis simulation exercise, crisis management, bank resolution, cross-border cooperation, information-sharing, resolution funding