Moroccan Banking Sector Overcomes Crises & Achieves Growth

  • Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco
  • 27 July 2022
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A report by the Central Bank of Morocco on the performance of banks showed that the banking sector adapted to internal and external conditions that affected its activity and was able to withstand crises.

According to a report by the Central Bank of Morocco on the sector’s activity, the sector was able to grow last year compared to 2020. According to official statistics, the growth of bank credit to the non-financial sector amounted to about 3 percent, supported by financing the needs of companies and productive sectors.

Despite the persistence of the problem of non-performing loans, the banks were able to improve their position clearly, as the average solvency ratio reached 15.8 percent against a regulatory minimum of 12 percent, bringing the cumulative net result up by 76.4%.

The data showed that the percentage of bad debts rose to 8.5 percent of net banking facilities at the end of last year, from 8.2 percent, compared to an annual rate. The total bad debts at the end of last year amounted to 85.1 billion dirhams ($ 8.4 billion at current exchange rates), up from 7.8 billion dollars a year ago. The Central Bank indicated that after an increase of 4.1 percent in the first year of the outbreak of the epidemic, the total loans provided by the banking sector increased by 2.8 percent compared to the previous year, to $ 104.5 billion by the end of 2021.

Source (Al-Arab Newspaper of London, Edited)

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