As IMF staff and Senegal prepared to announce a programme of about USD 2.2bn, its dollar bond due June 2031 fell to a record low of 50.4 cents on the dollar, Reuters reported from Tradeweb data. On 1 September, the day the agreement was announced, the finance ministry said it would seek a debt treatment under the G20 Common Framework, and left debt in CFA francs out of it.
So Senegal plans to renegotiate what it owes abroad. The XOF bills and bonds it sells through UMOA-Titres sit outside the plan. Here is each step, dated, and what is still open.
The ladder
| Date | Step | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Sep 2024 | Audit puts the 2023 deficit above 10% of GDP, against about 5% reported; Senegal does not request its IMF disbursement. The IMF later froze the USD 1.8bn facility | done | Reuters, Reuters |
| 12 Feb 2025 | Court of Auditors report; central government debt revised from 74.4% to 99.7% of GDP at end-2023 | done | IMF |
| 3 Oct 2025 | Senegal has formally requested a new IMF programme | done | IMF |
| 10 Oct 2025 | Moody's: B3 to Caa1 | done | Financial Afrik |
| 14 Nov 2025 | S&P foreign-currency: B- to CCC+ | done | Financial Afrik |
| 27 Mar 2026 | S&P local-currency: B- to CCC+ | done | Ecofin |
| 28 Aug 2026 | Moody's: Caa1 to Caa2 | done | Financial Afrik |
| 1 Sep 2026 | IMF staff-level agreement, 36 months, about USD 2.2bn; needs Board approval, misreporting fixes and financing assurances | announced | IMF |
| 1 Sep 2026 | Debt Treatment Plan under an "enhanced" Common Framework; CFA franc debt excluded | announced | Ecofin |
| Early Sep 2026 (before the IMF statement; exact day not printed) | Dollar bond due 2031 at 50.4 cents | done | Reuters |
| 4 Sep 2026 | S&P: foreign-currency to CC, local-currency to CCC | done | AFP |
| By 13 Oct 2026 | Investor presentation proposes four parallel creditor committees | announced | Reuters |
| 15 Oct 2026 | US Treasury wants the case done "in less than one year" | announced | Africanews, Reuters |
| Not yet published | IMF Executive Board vote | pending | Reuters |
Senegal's own auctions
| Auction | Sought (XOF bn) | Bids (XOF bn) | Bid cover | One-year bill yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Aug 2026 | 70.0 | 110.1 | 1.57 | 8.04% |
| 28 Aug 2026 | 70.0 | 113.8 | 1.63 | 7.85% |
| 11 Sep 2026 | 100.0 | 109.0 | 1.09 | 7.87% |
| 25 Sep 2026 | 150.0 | 157.9 | 1.05 | 7.99% |
| 9 Oct 2026 | 80.0 | 84.4 | 1.06 | 7.87% |
UMOA-Titres result pages. Sought is the amount for the whole issue; bids are summed across its bill and bond lines. Bid cover is bids divided by the amount sought.
(Facts) On 25 September the treasury asked for XOF 150.0bn, its largest ask of the five, and accepted all XOF 157.9bn bid. The one-year bill cleared between 7.85% and 8.04% throughout.
What it means
(Analysis) Demand at Senegal's regional auctions has thinned since late August: bid cover fell from 1.57 and 1.63 to between 1.05 and 1.09. The timing coincides with the debt treatment announcement. The results do not say who bid or why, so we do not claim one caused the other. Part of the fall is the treasury asking for more: bids on 25 September were the highest of the five.
(Facts) On 4 September S&P also cut the local-currency rating, saying CFA franc debt could be drawn into the restructuring because some creditors may challenge the plan's perimeter.
Our earlier brief set Senegal's one-year rate against its neighbours'.
What to watch
- The IMF Executive Board vote: date not yet published.
- The first creditor committee meetings: date not published.
- Senegal's next auction: date not published; results on our WAEMU bonds page.
Information, not advice.