Attijariwafa Bank to Expand Operations to East Africa

Moroccan Attijariwafa Bank group, which is already present in North Africa and West Africa, is planning to set foot in East Africa through new acquisitions to be launched by the end of 2019, announced Youssef Rouissi, the bank’s deputy general manager.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an investment conference in Johannesburg, Rouissi , who heads global corporate investment banking, said Attijariwafa Bank is planning acquisitions in Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

“We have opportunities in Rwanda. We are also considering opportunities in Kenya and Ethiopia,” he said, affirming that the Moroccan private bank looks forward “to acquiring banks that are ranked among the first five banks in every market”.

Attijariwafa Bank already has subsidiaries in Cameroon, Congo Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Tunisia and Togo. It also has branches in Europe and the Gulf.

Several Moroccan private retail banks, telecoms firms, construction companies and industrial groups have been expanding in Africa, enhancing Morocco’s investment in the continent.

Attijariwafa, which bought the Egyptian unit of Barclays in 2017, posted a net profit up 6.4 percent at $295 million in the first half of this year.