Morocco’s banking sector enters an AI-defined growth phase from a position of strength, according to the third edition of Boston Consulting Group’s Future of Finance 2026 report, which analyses the performance of nearly 1,500 financial institutions, including major African markets. In 2025, Moroccan banks recorded approximately 8 percent growth in their consolidated balance sheets, while improving cost discipline, asset quality and revenue diversification — a set of fundamentals that BCG describes as providing a strategically significant capacity for investment.
The principal message from BCG is that the next phase of growth will not come from further consolidation of these financial foundations, but from using them to enter underserved markets and develop higher-value services. Financial inclusion for lower-income households, financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and expanded service offerings for both retail and corporate clients are the growth pockets BCG identifies. Historically constrained by high service costs and thin margins, these segments could now become commercially viable through the efficiency gains and improved risk analysis that artificial intelligence enables.
Othman Omary, Managing Director and Partner at BCG Casablanca, put the case succinctly: “AI has become a value creation lever, far more than a technology topic. The fact that financial institutions are preparing to invest almost as much as the tech sector says a great deal. In Morocco, banks that rethink their processes end-to-end around AI — not just in isolated touches — will take a decisive competitive lead.”
The report’s global findings provide context. Financial sector shareholder returns exceeded 30 percent in 2025, outperforming all other industries including technology, and a majority of banks globally are now valued above book value for the first time in years. Yet banks still trade at a roughly 40 percent discount relative to broader market averages, reflecting investor expectations that they still need to demonstrate the durability of this recovery. BCG identifies three priorities: accelerating AI adoption, investing in new growth engines, and returning mergers and acquisitions to the centre of strategic planning.
Among the most advanced AI adopters in the global financial sector, BCG documents productivity gains of up to 50 percent in credit origination and a 30 percent increase in customer penetration of savings products. In 2026, financial institutions globally plan to allocate approximately 2 percent of revenues to AI projects — more than double the 0.9 percent of a year earlier and approaching the levels typical of the technology sector itself. BCG also flags the emergence of non-bank financial operators and stablecoins as intensifying the competitive landscape, while paradoxically reinforcing the value of banks as trusted intermediaries.
