Corporate banking options in 2024

Healy Consultants Group and our dedicated team assists our Clients to seamlessly open a standard corporate bank account or Islamic corporate banking solution in Morocco.

Without personal travel, our experienced banking team will introduce your business and negotiate with a preferred Moroccan bank. By submitting a tailored, quality corporate bank account opening application, Healy Consultants project manages the communication with local banks, ensuring timely account approval.

Press the link headings below to find out more about business banking in Morocco.

• The financial sector in Morocco

  

  • Fitch maintains a stable outlook for Morocco’s financial and banking sector in 2017. This said, the credit rating agency expects stronger economic growth in 2018;
  • Negative aspects of the financial sector include: i) high single-name borrower concentration and ii) increased amount of non-performing domestic loans;
  • Positively, credit lending instruments have increased in volumes since 2016, including: i) retail mortgages and ii) consumer loans, with average increase of 5% on an annual basis;
  • In 2017, the Moroccan financial sector introduced Islamic banking services, compliant with Sharia law. Approvals for implementing Islamic banking services were offered to the three leading French banks: i) Societe Generale, ii) BNP Paribas and iii) Credit Agricole’s Islamic Development Bank;
  • The country is poorly ranked by its i) soundness of banks and ii) affordability of financial services by WEF for 2017, but still overpasses other Northern African countries, such as Egypt and Mali.

• Morocco corporate banking

  

  • In late 2017, the Moroccan banking system comprised of a total of i) 19 resident banks, ii) 7 non-resident banks and iii) 13 microfinance credit-lending institutions;
  • Local-owned banks represent the majority of the banking sector which prides itself as one of the most developed in Africa, with high penetration within the country;
  • Based on experience, we always recommend our foreign Clients to open their business bank account in Morocco with a bank with which they already have a bank account in another country, for example Banque Populaire du Maroc;
  • Heay Consultants suggest our Clients consider strong suitable local Morocco banks that offer quality facilities, including i) Attijariwafa Bank and ii) CIH bank; A complete list of local and international banks licensed in Morocco can be found in this webpage;
  • The Casablanca Stock Exchange is one of the largest and most important in Africa, currently privatized and regulated by an independent oversight commission;
  • The Moroccan currency, the Dirham, was introduced as a banknote in 1965, currently with highest denomination of 200 MAD (equal to US$20).

• Steps required to open a Moroccan resident corporate bank account

  To secure a Moroccan corporate bank account for a resident company, Healy Consultants will follow these steps:

  1. To begin, our expert team will agree with our Client the optimal bank and personal travel preferences;
  2. As a second step, Healy Consultants will secure a confirmation of interest from the bank’s legal and compliance department, preferably without personal travel of the bank signatory;
  3. Following successful company registration, Healy Consultants will prepare a quality and complete corporate bank account opening application, translated in Arabic;
  4. If our Client requires to secure credit facilities, Healy Consultants will offer to prepare a tailored feasibility study;
  5. Following successful online banking activation, Healy Consultants’ dedicated relationship officer will collect the online banking kit and token device, and courier to our Client.

• Exchange controls and other regulations

  • Over the past decade, Morocco is implementing liberal policy towards foreign exchange controls aimed at foreign currencies, with few exceptions/formalities;
  • Export of local Moroccan Dirhams is restricted;
  • Furthermore, prior Bank Al-Maghrib approval is required for payments of management fees and capital transfers.