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Private company

Bank of West Africa

French colonial bank

The Banque de l'Afrique occidentale (BAO, lit. 'Bank of Western Africa'), known from 1853 to 1901 as Banque du Sénégal and from 1965 to 1990 as the Banque internationale pour l'Afrique occidentale (BIAO), was a bank headquartered in Dakar. During most of its history it was the main or only commercial bank and bank of issue in French Senegal and French West Africa.2 It is part of Attijariwafa Bank.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1901Founded1
  • Industryeconomics of banking, financial sector, financial services1
  • HeadquartersDakar1
  • Legal formS.A.1

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Dakar BAO 1900
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

The Banque de l'Afrique occidentale (BAO, lit. 'Bank of Western Africa'), known from 1853 to 1901 as Banque du Sénégal and from 1965 to 1990 as the Banque internationale pour l'Afrique occidentale (BIAO), was a bank headquartered in Dakar. During most of its history it was the main or only commercial bank and bank of issue in French Senegal and French West Africa.2

Corporate structure

Bank of West Africa is part of a group headed by Attijariwafa Bank. 13 entities, 5 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1965Renamed Name changed to Banque internationale pour l'Afrique occidentale1
  2. 1901Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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  3. 3