Moroccan Banks See 76% Profit Surge in 2021, Defying Global Trends

It thus appears that the Moroccan banking sector remains strong and resilient in terms of profitability, but also liquidity and solvency. The short-term liquidity ratio stands at comfortable levels, the experts said.

"In terms of capitalization, the solvency and Tier 1 capital ratios stood at 15.8% and 12% on a solo basis at the end of 2021, for regulatory minimums of 12% and 9%. On a consolidated basis, these ratios stood at 13.9% and 11.2% respectively. The solvency macro stress test exercise carried out by Bank Al-Maghrib in June 2022 shows the resilience of the banking sector to scenarios simulating the deterioration of macroeconomic conditions," says a statement from the body.

The same source points out that despite a difficult environment, bank credit to the non-financial sector also followed the same trend at the beginning of the 2022 financial year. At the end of April, the default rate stabilized at 11.2% for loans to non-financial companies and 9.8% for loans to households.

As a result, the non-performing loan rate of the banking sector is 8.7%, and the coverage rate of these loans by provisions has remained around 68%, the CCSRS specifies.