One of the nation’s most formidable banking forces has assets exceeding $10 billion and wide-ranging experience

Earlier this year, BMCE bought a 35 percent stake in Africa Financial Holding / Bank of Africa, a group of nine commercial banks and eight specialized financial companies in West Africa.

ne of the most important efforts of the Moroccan government in recent years has been its reform, and the subsequent consolidation, of the country’s financial sector. Opening the sector to competition has meant the gradual disappearance of weaker institutions while sound institutions have found more solid footing. Likewise, increased independence for the central bank has strengthened the regulator’s credibility and freedom to act, producing tangible effects on the smooth and transparent functioning of the sector and boosting investor confidence.

Today, Morocco’s banking and insurance sectors are the second largest in Africa, following closely on the heels of their more mature counterparts in South Africa. “In the years to come, the progressive liberalization of the Moroccan banking sector will be a fantastic signal for foreign investors wishing to penetrate a market with strong and stable growth potential,” comments President and CEO of BMCE Bank Othman Benjelloun. “We have been a flag carrier of the economy, as well as an economic ambassador, thanks to our establishment in Europe.”

With its extensive experience in foreign trade operations, BMCE controls nearly 30 percent of Morocco’s trade finance market. It has assets exceeding $10 billion and represents one of Casablanca’s strongest listings, not only for its capitalization but also for the size of the bank: it boasts 356 retail branches and employs more than 3,700 people.

Under the 12-year direction of Mr. Benjelloun, who was also recently named President of the Union of Maghreb Banks, BMCE has emerged at the top of the country’s financial scene. It commanded a 12.6 percent and 14.2 percent market share of loans and deposits, respectively, as of year-end 2006, making it Morocco’s third largest bank in these categories.

OTHMAN BENJELLOUN President and CEO of BMCE, President of the Moroccan Banking Association

The strategic vision and leadership of Mr. Benjelloun have made BMCE Bank a multi-specialty financial group, especially with the creation of BMCE Capital, a top reference investment bank in the region, enjoying a strong positioning in capital markets and financial advisory activities including brokerage, asset management, custody, venture capital and financial engineering. BMCE’s shares grew by an outstanding 273 percent last year and it expects a solid 15 percent annual growth rate in earnings over the next three years. The enterprise is also now the third largest bank in the country in terms of branch network due to an ambitious expansion in recent years. Between 2004 and 2006, it opened 106 new branches, effectively boosting its number of accounts by 16 percent. This year the bank’s new branches aim to target retail banking in lower income areas, bringing its total to more than 400, in line with a drive to achieve strong growth in mortgage lending.

In addition, it has 15 business centers, almost exclusively dedicated to corporate and SME business. Project financing has also been a strong segment in the bank’s business; it has benefited considerably from the country’s current boom in infrastructure, real estate and tourism. In fact growth has been so strong that the bank created a special project finance and corporate banking division last year, BMCE Capital Finance.

Like other Moroccan banks, BMCE is actively updating its IT systems to implement Basel II requirements, which it expects to complete by the end of 2008. The recent reorganization of its retail and corporate branches enable it to better meet the differing needs of the two markets. As Mr. Benjelloun says, “More than for its trade or financial performance, the bank has succeeded by being a pioneer of product innovation, technological innovation and societal innovation.” Indeed, since its privatization, BMCE Bank has remained, through its Foundation, firmly rooted in its action of corporate social responsibility, resolutely committed to national priority areas such as education. This is seen through the Medersat.com program, designed to establish and run scores of community schools in Moroccan rural areas and distinguished by an innovative pedagogical approach.

As part of its global outreach strategy, a new impetus was given to its international presence through the creation of MediCapital Bank, a London-based investment bank subsidiary of the group which federates all the activities of the bank in Europe.