The UMB currently boasts 60 members working together to promote cohesion in financial policies and practices across the Maghreb region

resident of BMCE Othman Benjelloun has recently been elected President of the Union of Maghreb Banks (UMB), an association formed in 1990 by bank presidents from the five Maghreb countries – Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania. A non-profit organization, the UMB forms policy recommendations, supports the harmonization of legal and financial regulatory structures, and promotes a dynamic regional financial sector.

Enhanced financial integration will also strengthen the resilience of the five economies to shocks. Mr. Benjelloun says the banking sector is capable of spearheading Maghreb economic integration as it possesses the resources and the credibility, and adds that the cooperation among the financial community represented by UMB is a preliminary step in establishing a common financial market.

“Bankers and businessmen who agree on common interests, support reciprocal establishments, offer trans-border services, harmonize technical infrastructures and support the collaboration between market operators and institutions – such as stock exchanges and trade associations – represent the first step in a common Maghrebian financial infrastructure, which may, in the long run, lead to the creation of a monetary union and single currency,” he observes.