Moroccan banking sector posts strong performance amid global uncertainty

Morocco’s banking sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, with net profits surging 24 percent according to the latest assessment by the country’s financial stability watchdog, reinforcing the sector’s position as a pillar of economic strength.

The Committee for Coordination and Monitoring of Systemic Risks (CCSRS), meeting Monday at Bank Al-Maghrib headquarters in Rabat, highlighted that the impressive performance was primarily driven by robust market activities. This growth pushed the sector’s return on assets to 0.9 percent and return on equity to 9.5 percent, indicating efficient capital utilization and strong profitability metrics.

Financial soundness indicators paint an encouraging picture of the banking system’s health. Banks maintained average core capital and total capital ratios of 13.5 percent and 16.2 percent respectively on an individual basis, well above regulatory requirements. On a consolidated basis, these ratios stood at 12.3 percent and 14.1 percent for 2024, demonstrating solid capital buffers across banking groups.

Stress tests conducted by Bank Al-Maghrib further validated the sector’s resilience, confirming banks’ ability to withstand severe economic shocks while maintaining compliance with prudential requirements. Short-term liquidity ratios also remained comfortably above regulatory thresholds, ensuring adequate crisis management capacity.

The committee approved the 12th edition of the annual financial stability report for 2024 and validated the completion of the 2022-2024 financial stability roadmap. Additionally, significant progress was noted in strengthening Morocco’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework, preparing for upcoming evaluations by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force in 2026.