Zoom sur la présence des banques marocaines en Afrique avec Badr Zaher Al Azrak - 08/10/2024
MEDI1TV Afrique : Zoom sur la présence des banques marocaines en Afrique avec Badr Zaher Al Azrak - 08/10/2024
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to Focus Economique.
00:12Moroccan banks continue to consolidate their presence in Africa.
00:16Three groups are emerging.
00:18They were ranked in 2024 among the 30 most precious banks,
00:22according to the Forbes Middle East ranking,
00:25and finally in the African top 20.
00:28Solid and resilient, Moroccan banks have a promising growth potential.
00:33Growth potential and performance of Moroccan banks in Africa
00:36is the subject of today's Focus Eco.
00:39And with us to talk about it, Mr. Badr Zahir.
00:41You are a law professor at the University of Casablanca.
00:46It's a pleasure to have you with us today.
00:48A pleasure to share.
00:49Thank you for accepting our invitation.
00:52So we're going to talk about these Moroccan banks, their presence in Africa.
00:56How do they position themselves today in relation to the international market?
01:03You already mentioned it.
01:04Today we're talking about the three banking networks
01:07that make up the top 20 at the continental level.
01:11And it's not easy because these banking networks
01:14have had to face fierce competition,
01:17notably from Nigerian, South African and also Egyptian networks.
01:23And being among the top 20 today
01:26really reflects the resilience of the Moroccan banking sector
01:31because the economy in general in Morocco
01:34has undergone several shocks in recent decades.
01:39And among the sectors that have been able to resist and overcome these shocks,
01:44the banking sector in Morocco.
01:46And the banking sector in Morocco today
01:49is not limited to strengthening its share in the economic scene in Morocco,
01:55but it's always about working to expand its activities,
02:01even beyond the Moroccan borders.
02:03Today, in terms of Western Africa,
02:05Moroccan banks are the most present in French-speaking Western Africa.
02:09And I think this presence and this implementation today
02:13was always in perfect harmony
02:15with the investment strategies abroad in Morocco
02:18led by the Kingdom.
02:19And I think it was also the result of a certain governmental will,
02:24already well declared by Morocco,
02:27because in this context,
02:29a lot of agreements and conventions were signed
02:32to reinforce the existence of the banking financial network,
02:36notably in some Western African countries.
02:39So we won the bet on this implementation in Western Africa.
02:42Today, we support Moroccan investors.
02:44We also support foreign investors,
02:47but we also offer several financial services
02:50to citizens and companies in Western Africa.
02:56A strong presence of Moroccan banking groups
03:00at the continental level.
03:02Strong, solid, resilient banks today, as you said.
03:06What comparative advantage do these banks offer?
03:10How do they stand out from the rest of the world?
03:15Because you always have to link the role played by Moroccan banks
03:19to the role played by Morocco at the level of the continental and international economy.
03:24It is the role of intermediaries.
03:25Morocco presents itself today as an economic and financial platform.
03:29Today, we are even transforming the economic identity of Casablanca
03:33to create a certain financial platform,
03:37Casa Finance City,
03:38for an African financial platform.
03:40That is to say, strengthening the role of intermediaries between the two banks.
03:47That is to say, Europe, which is the largest market,
03:50where the largest number of investors and IDEs are concentrated,
03:55and also to mediate the role of intermediaries between the North and the South.
04:02To ensure this role, Morocco had to resort to the services of the banks,
04:07the Moroccan banking sector.
04:08Hence this massive implementation of banks in Western Africa.
04:12Today, in Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, everywhere, there are Moroccan banks,
04:18but not only Moroccan banks,
04:20banks that do not limit themselves to ordinary financial services,
04:25but also support the growth and implementation of certain economic strategies in these countries.
04:34So, support, the role of intermediaries is entrusted to these banks,
04:39especially when it comes to investment, capital transfer,
04:43a network of financial circulation and all that.
04:46So, this is the main role of the Moroccan banks
04:49installed in this area of Western Africa.
04:52Of course, we have recorded several performances at this level,
04:56but the main reproach is that we really found it very difficult
05:02to go beyond the borders of Western Africa.
05:06Today, we are in a comfort zone,
05:08francophone of course,
05:10and also in a comfort zone because we work with partners,
05:13there is a link with them through agreements and conventions,
05:17but the lack of initiative and the lack of this spirit of adventure,
05:22to venture beyond these borders,
05:24because, in general, we can say that Moroccan banks always fear risks,
05:31whether at the interior or exterior level.
05:34We will talk about these risks a little more in depth later.
05:40So, Moroccan banks that do not venture enough,
05:43at least in the African anglophone market,
05:45but have a potential to exploit.
05:49You said it, through its banking network,
05:52Morocco continues to play this role of bridge between the North and the South.
05:59What types of offers are offered today on the African continent?
06:03Are we in offers or strategies that are adapted to each region
06:09according to its specificity?
06:11Of course, we speak that, in general,
06:13a bank presents several services,
06:16whether in housing, whether in companies,
06:18financing offers, consumption, investment,
06:22support, sharing and all that.
06:24So, these are the same products, the same services,
06:27that are also presented for the economic actors at the level of West Africa.
06:33But, still, the banks must adapt to the regulations of the countries
06:37and also to the African regulations
06:39and also to the provisions of the agreements and conventions
06:42signed between Morocco and these countries.
06:45So, of course, I will also draw the attention,
06:50because we must take into account the existence of a Moroccan community,
06:56especially in Senegal, Gabon, Ivory Coast,
06:59and this existence has often also favoured
07:03the implementation of this banking network in this region.
07:07So, at the regulatory level,
07:10banks must adapt to the local regulations of the countries.
07:14And I think, when I have already mentioned a comfort zone,
07:17it is also a regulatory comfort zone for Moroccan banks,
07:21because when we speak of a zone
07:23strongly impacted by the French Romano-Germanic legislation,
07:27so, of course, it is a comfort zone because the regulations are similar
07:30to those that exist in Morocco.
07:33What is the specificity of the regulations in Morocco today,
07:37as regards this sector and those that are applied today also in Africa?
07:42Today, we are talking about the existence of a legal text.
07:44Previously, there was no legal text,
07:46there were only arrests, some circulars scattered.
07:49But, given the importance of this sector,
07:51given that we have chosen to expand our network
07:56by integrating other types of banks,
07:59participatory banks, offshore banks,
08:01and also to make Morocco a certain financial platform,
08:05we were therefore obliged to review our regulations.
08:09First of all, to unify, to group the legal texts into a single text.
08:13Today, we have a three-bank system,
08:15which defines what a bank is,
08:18which defines the skills, the activities,
08:22which establishes a certain authority of regulation today
08:25because we are in an era of liberalization of services.
08:28Previously, we were not talking about liberalization
08:30because most banks were in the hands of the state, public actors.
08:34So, we did not need regulators or police officers
08:38to regulate the relationship between the different actors.
08:41Today, after liberalization,
08:44we needed to create a legal text
08:46to regulate the banking sector,
08:49but also to regulate and regulate the relations between the different actors,
08:54notably the different banks where the state holds large shares in capital
09:00and also the private sector, purely private.
09:03So, we have a text, we have regulatory institutions,
09:06and I think this is the case in most of Western Africa.
09:10So, this is the reason why I think the Moroccan banks
09:13did not find a certain fluidity in terms of integration
09:16and they did not find many constraints to establish themselves,
09:19to exercise their activities.
09:21And this is not the case in Anglo-Saxon Africa.
09:23It is totally different.
09:25Okay. So, a market to exploit, which is the Anglo-French market.
09:31If we had to stay on banking performance,
09:34how do we evaluate the performance of Moroccan banks in general?
09:41In terms of performance, the first performance is the level of implementation.
09:46We are among the most implemented banks
09:49and they exist massively in Western Africa.
09:54So, if we can take this as an indicator of performance, it is the first.
09:58Second, it is the support and services.
10:01Today, these Moroccan banks are a success story
10:04also in these countries of Western Africa
10:06because today they have acquired the trust of the households,
10:10the trust of the companies in the region.
10:13So, today they have transformed.
10:15Of course, they are subsidiaries of large Moroccan groups and banking networks,
10:19but today some households and some African companies,
10:22especially in this region, consider them as local companies.
10:25This is the reason why they have forged a certain bond of trust
10:28and today they have started to finance a large part of the projects,
10:34a large part of the companies and households in these countries.
10:37So, it is our area of performance.
10:39But performance always has limits
10:42because always, at the beginning of our debate,
10:45we mentioned that the major reproach for the Moroccan banking sector
10:51is the lack of initiative and also the lack of spirit to venture,
10:56to venture in certain geographical areas
10:59and also to venture in terms of financing
11:03that does not take into account and in a rigid way
11:05the guarantees offered by the companies.
11:08I think that this is the main reproach for Moroccan companies
11:11and I think that Moroccan companies have reported with themselves
11:15this context and these guarantees that reflect some rigidity
11:19from Morocco to outside Morocco.
11:21And I think that this observation slows down the expansion of Moroccan banks
11:25and sets limits for the development and growth of their activities
11:29at the level of Western Africa.
11:31So, more risk-taking today at the level of Moroccan banks would be…
11:35I don't know if it is due to the Moroccan entrepreneurial spirit
11:40because the question of risk is a shared observation
11:44because all economic actors today always try to escape risk.
11:49This is the reason why we invest massively in low-risk projects,
11:54including the real estate sector, services…
11:57Or with guarantees.
11:58Well, with guarantees as a service.
12:01The Moroccan entrepreneurial culture is totally different from the Anglo-Saxon one.
12:06At the level of the Anglo-Saxon entrepreneurial culture,
12:10we venture more, we take a lot of risks
12:12and, of course, we realize that there are a lot of risks of loss
12:16but there are also a lot of opportunities to seize.
12:19So, this is the reason why we prefer to earn little but also not to lose anything.
12:27So, a position that may need to be changed in the future.
12:30Changed. And changed mindsets.
12:31Changed mindsets.
12:32Thank you, Mr. Badar Zahir.
12:33I remind you that you are a Professor of Business Law at the University of Casablanca.
12:38It was a pleasure to have you.
12:39Thank you for all these details.
12:42This is the end of the Economic Focus for today.
12:44Thank you for your loyalty.
12:45Stay with us.
12:46See you tomorrow with a new guest.
12:47Have a very good day.