El Banco Popular de Marruecos planea expandirse por África
The People's Bank of Morocco (BCP), one of the most important institutions in the Kingdom and the second largest financial institution in the country, has reported that it is aiming to expand throughout the African continent. According to an interview with its director, they are exploring opportunities to increase their popularity in Africa by acquiring centres or partnering with other banks.
Kamal Mokdad, CEO of Banque Populaire, gave an interview to Reuteurs in which he affirmed these ideas. "For the moment, we continue to monitor the market and are ready to take advantage of any external growth opportunities or partnerships in line with our standards and development strategy on the continent," Mokdad added.
He said the ambitions to expand the country's power and Morocco's large geographic presence mean that the bank's performance will be strong, and that the contribution it already receives from foreign banks, and the contribution it could receive from various deals across Africa, could exceed its net income target by 30 per cent. Moreover, economic experts say that Morocco's presence in the economy attracts international companies that grow and invest in the Alawi economy. "The presence of Moroccan banks throughout Africa has made it easier for companies to invest there," confirmed Mokdad.
The pandemic continues to be one of the most affecting factors in the world, and this entity is not spared. The CEO says the coronavirus has been a key point for this plan to be delayed, as 2019 has seen the bank move into the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius and Madagascar, where it bought three entities and brought the bank to 18 branches across the continent.
"Our plans to expand on the continent have not changed as a result of the health crisis," says Mokdad. While the plans remain in place, the bank's CEO also said that "certainly, the COVID-19 crisis has temporarily slowed this momentum, but the rate of recovery is promising and we remain confident of growing the business in the coming years".
The director also pointed out that as this group maintains good allocations, the improvement in economic activity in the UK and Africa has led to a 20% reduction in the cost of risk since last September. Also, a week ago this bank had talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in which this organisation urged the Central Bank of Morocco to guarantee the nation's branches so that its banks have enough money for provisions as lending has increased by 24% to $9bn this past third quarter compared to 2019 at the same dates.
The People's Bank of Morocco is one of the country's largest banks, the second largest, and is headquartered in the city of Casablanca. It has been active since 1961 and has been listed on the country's stock exchange since 2004, having become a public limited company in 2000. Its main function and that of its branches is to engage in insurance and microfinance, in addition to typical banking services, asset management and cash transfers. It is one of the banks that are currently expanding across the continent after Commercial and Wafa Bank, which already have a strong presence throughout Africa, with the intention of boosting Morocco's influence in all areas.
The branches of these organisations contribute 25% of the revenues they receive, so business growth is booming. It is estimated that over the past year, their quarterly profits increased by 55.6 per cent, or $280 million more than last year, when last year the money raised was reported to be $130 million.
