Morocco Tightens Real Estate Lending Rules to Safeguard Banking Sector

These new rules will come into force by 2021 and will allow banks to be repaid the loans granted for real estate. The aim is to prepare "the regulation of household indebtedness for real estate". According to L’Économiste, "the outstanding amount is 226 billion dirhams, with a default rate of 6.8% in 2019".

Henceforth, the ratio between the loan amount and the purchase price of the property will be taken into account "to prevent excessive household indebtedness and protect banks against associated risks". In the very short term, "the new measures could exclude some applicants from access to real estate credit," the newspaper specifies.