French Société Générale confirms sale of its Morocco bank to Saham for €747 million

French Société General plans to sell its majority stake in its Moroccan branches to Saham group for 745 million euros, as it continues its divestment from the African continent.

The transaction which includes Société Générale Marocaine de Banques and La Marocaine Vie is expected to be completed by end of 2024.

The French group owns 57% in La Société Générale Marocaine de Banques, the largest lender in Morocco.

With this transaction, the bank becomes fully Moroccan after Saham, owned by former industry minister Moulay Hafid Alamy, takes over as majority stakeholder.

The transaction is reflective of the engagement of Moroccan investors in boosting the national economy, Alamy was quoted as saying following the signing ceremony.

“Together with Société Générale, represented by Slawomir Krupa, we had the pleasure of outlining a solid and long-term partnership between our two groups and looking to the future with peace of mind for SGMB, its customers, and its human resources,” he said.

The deal would mark the return of Saham to the financial sector after the company sold its insurance business in 2018 to South Africa’s Sanlam for $1 billion.

In 2022, SGMB was the fourth largest bank in Morocco with over 1 million clients and a turnover of $12 billion. Its net banking income stood at $520 million with a net profit of $120 million.