Moroccan Lawmaker Slams Banks for Raising Interest Rates During Pandemic

"Who is ordering the banks to raise their interest rates at a time when they should be playing an important role for the country?" questioned the deputy, in the presence of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mohamed Benchaaboun. "The banks have indeed agreed to defer the repayment of the loans they have granted, but have kept the application of the interest rate, and sometimes they have even increased these rates," denounces Lahcen Haddad.

As for the "Oxygen Guarantee", the deputy declared that "it has nothing oxygenated if it applies under the same conditions as a normal period, and if it presents the same bureaucratic difficulties and obstacles", according to Hespress.

Regarding the economic crisis affecting the tourism sector, the former minister considers it "necessary" to adopt a new "more audacious" approach, which will make it possible to overcome the catastrophic economic impact of the current situation.

He thus recommends "deferring the repayment of loans with a maturity of one year or more", "exempting them from social security contributions for six months" and "granting loans with 0% interest rates for a period of five years", while "deferring repayment for one year".