Latest data on bank credit, loans and deposits in Morocco
According to the report on bank credit, loans and deposits in Morocco for December 2023, published by Bank Al Maghrib (BAM), the outstanding amount of bank credit amounted to MAD 1,114.5 billion, an annual increase of 5.2%.
- Credit terms and conditions
- Lending between demand and the interest rate offered
- Bank deposits
- Developments in bank lending
The annual increase of 0.1% in credit to Private Non-Financial Corporations represents an increase of 6.9% in loans for equipment and a reduction of 8.6% in treasury services.
The BAM's business survey indicates that access to bank financing in the fourth quarter of 2023 was described as "normal" by 78% of industrialists and "difficult" by 22%.
On the other hand, the cost of credit would have been stagnant according to 66% of companies and rising according to 28% of them.
Credit terms and conditions
With regard to the conditions for granting credit in the third quarter of 2023, the criteria were tightened for cash loans and remained unchanged for equipment and property development loans.
The size of the company is a crucial factor; so the conditions would have been tightened for SMEs and remained unchanged for large companies.
It should be recalled that the banks had also declared a relaxation of the criteria for granting consumer loans without changing those for housing loans.
Lending between demand and the interest rate offered
On the demand side, there was an increase for all types of loans, with an increase for large companies and a decrease for SMEs.
In parallel, demand for both housing and consumer loans would have decreased.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, interest rates on new loans increased to 5.42%, i.e. 5.25% for large enterprises and 5.70% for SMEs. These changes also affected housing loans with an increase of 4.83% and a decrease of 7.18% for consumer loans.
Lending to households recorded an annual increase of 2.1%, a rise of 2% in housing loans and 0.5% in consumer loans.
Collective financing for housing continued its progression and was set at 21.6 billion MAD after 18.9 billion MAD estimated in 2022.
Bank deposits
At the end of December 2023, deposits in banks stood at 1,165.3 billion dirhams, an increase of 2.8% compared with the same month of the previous year.
Household deposits amounted to MAD 859.6 billion, an annual increase of 3.7%, including Moroccans living abroad with MAD 204.5 billion. Meanwhile, deposits of private companies increased by 9.2% to MAD 206.3 billion at the end of December.
Interest rates on time deposits recorded increases of 40 basis points for 12-month deposits and 23 basis points for six-month deposits, amounting respectively to 3.05 and 2.60% at end-December 2023.
The minimum rate of remuneration for savings accounts was set at 2.73% for the first half of 2024, a decrease of 25 basis points compared with the previous half-year.
Developments in bank lending
Bank credit increased by +5.2% to dirhams 1,114 billion. Credit to the non-financial sector stood at 934.2 billion MAD (+2.9%).
Private companies registered 443.6 billion MAD (+0.1%), while households recorded 386.3 billion MAD (+2.1%) and housing 244 billion MAD (+2%). Cash, on the other hand, declined by -8.6% to $195.1 billion.