The Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa has opened an office in Montréal, Canada. Expressing himself for the occasion, the group’s CEO, Mohammed el Kettani justifies the expansion with the need to support Moroccans’ economic activity wherever they may be.

Moroccan Central Popular Bank (BCP) has recorded, in 2015, a net profit of 2.51 billion dirham ($255.2 million), 14% up from 2014, a statement the group published on March 10 reports.

Moroccan Attijariwafa Bank announced on February 24 it has generated 4.5 billion Moroccan dirhams ($457.34 million) of net profit in 2015, thus 3.4% up from the previous year’s result. “Combining its strategy of diversification of businesses and geographies with its anticipative risk-management policy, Attijariwafa Bank was able to improve its performances in 2015, despite the environment which was characterized by a low loan demand in Morocco,” said the SNI-owned group.

Morocco's banks appear well placed to cope with economic slowdown and the outlook for the sector is stable, says Fitch Ratings. We forecast GDP growth of 2.9% in 2016, which is lower than the robust 4.6% estimate for 2015, which was held up by exceptionally strong agricultural output. The banks should benefit from overall resilient macro and business stability. Morocco's banks are largely domestic and rely on the local economy for 80% of their business.