Morocco’s Central Bank Teams up with IFC to Enhance Credit Reporting

Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s Central Bank, and the International Finance Corporation, member of the World Bank group, held Thursday an international conference on Public Credit Registry best practice, focusing on how credit reporting data can support regulators’ institutional functions and help ensure financial stability.

The joint work is part of a wider project aiming to strengthen credit reporting infrastructure in Morocco to improve financial inclusion, and help the Central Bank better exert its institutional responsibilities through a modern technological environment.

The conference was attended by regulators and Central Banks officials from Africa and the Middle East to help the countries develop sound financial regulations and infrastructure.

“We are happy to speak about our experience and to share our expertise with our industry fellows to support the development of the financial infrastructure of African countries,” said Abdellatif Jouahri, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib.

The Moroccan Central Bank has so far opened two credit bureaus, the first country in MENA to do so. It is now planning to revamp its Public Credit Registry (PCR) based on international best practice, harnessing the power of data from multiple sources to help monitor systemic risk, while responding to changes in regulations imposed by new global standards like the Basel Accords.

While the credit bureaus will continue to provide risk management and information services to the lending industry, the PCR will be used by Central Bank regulators to support its internal needs and responsibilities.

For his part, IFC Country Manager for the Maghreb, Xavier Reille, stressed the importance of fostering the development of credit reporting, which is “one of the fastest and most successful ways to expand access to finance for small and medium enterprises, while controlling systemic risks in the country”.

The availability and transparency of data sharing between financial institutions, regulators, and other financial parties “is key to simplifying the decision process, and reducing credit costs and payment defaults”, he added.

The event brought together experts from more than 20 central banks, mostly from the Africa and MENA regions, and host speakers from advanced Central Banks like Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the European Central Bank.

IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. It works with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using its capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world.