Regulatory own funds maturity · COBAC own funds regulation
Your regulatory own funds practices, measured against the COBAC regulation and turned into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Regulatory own funds maturity · COBAC own funds regulation
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One COBAC Regulation on the net own funds of CEMAC credit institutions assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
This mechanism (one level, the level above, and the action linking the two) is what turns a finding into a trajectory.
Are the regulatory deductions applied to net own funds identified, justified and traceable?
- N1
No inventory of deductions exists. Amounts are carried over from one return to the next without documented justification.
- N2
The main deductions are identified by the finance department, but their justification remains in a personal spreadsheet and is not reviewed by a third party.
- N3
Each deduction has a justification sheet linked to an accounting source, reviewed at every return by a second-level control.
- N4
Deductions are produced under a written procedure, controlled, reconciled with certified accounts and presented to the audit committee with variances from the previous return.
- N5
Deductions are anticipated, including provisioning shortfalls, built into capital projections and revised after every supervisory finding, with documented tracking of revisions.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Formalise a justification sheet for each type of deduction, referencing the source account and the applicable text, and include it in the quarterly closing file with review by permanent control before submission to COBAC.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurementon COBAC.
What this framework covers
The COBAC regulation on net own funds sets out what can be counted as own funds by a credit institution in the CEMAC zone, and under what conditions. It distinguishes core own funds from supplementary own funds, governs the eligibility of instruments, mandates deductions (holdings in other credit institutions, intangible assets, carried-forward losses, provisioning shortfalls identified by the supervisor) and serves as the common denominator for the whole prudential framework: solvency, risk concentration, limits on holdings and fixed assets.
In practice, the difficulty is not knowing the text, it is keeping the calculation on track over time with reliable data. Who produces the net own funds figure, at what frequency, and from which version of the accounts? Are deductions linked to provisioning shortfalls anticipated, or discovered only when reading the supervisor’s follow-up letters? Can the institution project its own funds twelve or twenty-four months ahead before approving a dividend distribution or a growth plan for its exposures? The answer rarely depends on the text, it depends on the organisation.
The gradual convergence of the CEMAC prudential framework towards Basel II and Basel III principles has shifted the issue. Own funds are no longer an accounting figure restated at the end of the quarter to feed a regulatory return, but a scarce resource to be allocated across business lines and defended before the board. One confusion keeps recurring: accounting equity and net regulatory own funds are not the same thing. The gap between the two, made up of restatements and deductions, must be explained, documented and monitored as an indicator in its own right.
The maturity assessment answers a different question from a compliance check. A compliance check asks: does the declared amount meet the regulation, yes or no. The assessment asks: at what level of control do the production, verification, projection and governance of this figure sit, and what specific actions move things to the next level. An institution can be compliant on its latest return and still fragile in the process that produced it.
In Datamensio, the framework is ready to use and remains adaptable. The AI adjusts the themes, questions and wording of the levels according to the size of the institution, group subsidiary or local bank, or builds a variant from your internal procedures and existing prudential returns.
Reference standard: COBAC Regulation on the net own funds of CEMAC credit institutions
The themes assessed
Own funds governance
Formalised capital management policy, roles of the board and senior management, internal alert thresholds, alignment with the distribution policy.
Composition and eligibility of instruments
Classification into core and supplementary own funds, eligibility conditions for subordinated instruments, treatment of premiums and reserves, legal documentation of issuances.
Regulatory deductions
Holdings in credit and financial institutions, intangible assets, carried-forward losses, notified provisioning shortfalls, treasury shares, traceability of each deduction.
Calculation production chain
Accounting data sources, tooling, consistency checks, separation between production and verification, closing deadlines, version management.
Alignment with prudential ratios
Use of net own funds as denominator or numerator, consistency with solvency, risk concentration, limits on holdings and fixed assets.
Capital projection and planning
Projection horizon, growth assumptions for risk-weighted assets, adverse scenarios, reinforcement plan, link with the budget and business plan.
Reporting to the supervisor
Production of prudential returns, compliance with submission deadlines, quality and justification of declared amounts, handling of additional requests and follow-up letters.
Internal control and audit trail
Second-level controls on the calculation, periodic review by internal audit, retention of supporting evidence, reconciliation with certified accounts.
Consolidated and group dimension
Prudential consolidation scope, consistency of restatements across subsidiaries, data reporting up the chain, alignment between solo and consolidated views.
Continuous improvement and benchmarking
Tracking of gaps from one return to the next, use of supervisor and statutory auditor findings, updating of procedures, comparison across entities.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does this assessment replace a COBAC inspection?
No. COBAC carries out supervision and rules on compliance with the regulation. The assessment measures the maturity of your practices and prepares for the inspection by identifying weak points before they are flagged. Datamensio issues no certification.
What is the difference between a maturity assessment and a compliance check?
A compliance check concludes with a gap or compliance finding on an amount declared at a given date. The assessment locates the robustness of the process producing that amount on a progressive scale and points to the trajectory for improvement. The two are complementary.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version can be completed in one session by a prudential reporting manager. The full version, run collaboratively with the finance department, risk and internal control, takes one to two weeks, most of the time being spent gathering supporting evidence.
Is the framework adaptable to our institution?
Yes. Questions, levels and themes can be modified. The AI generates a version tailored to a microfinance institution, a group subsidiary or a full-scope bank, based on your existing procedures and returns.
Can several group subsidiaries be compared?
Yes. Each entity takes the same assessment and scores are compared by theme. A cross-entity roadmap consolidates the audits and groups common actions, avoiding the same restatement gap being addressed ten times over.
How does this framework link to solvency and risk concentration?
Net own funds form the calculation base for both arrangements. A solid own funds assessment provides a reusable foundation for the solvency, large exposures and ICAAP frameworks, without going over the same questions twice.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, backed up at Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European solutions.