EBRD
By Nibal Zgheib
- EBRD lends MAD 165 million (€15m) to Banco Sabadell Succursale Casablanca (BSC)
- Funds will be on-lent to smaller enterprises, which benefit from greater access to finance
- Supporting the growth of SMEs is a priority for the EBRD in Morocco
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) confirms its commitment to the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco by signing a loan agreement of MAD 165 million (equivalent to €15 million) with Banco Sabadell Succursale Casablanca (BSC).
Access to finance is a key issue for the growth of SMEs in Morocco, which is one of the EBRD’s priorities.
EBRD funds will aim to support BSC in its SME financing strategy by increasing its lending capacity to this segment.
In addition, this partnership with BSC is in line with the strong economic ties between the EBRD, Morocco and Spain, with the presence of a dense network of more than 600 Spanish companies in the Kingdom and a total of almost €4.5 billion in cumulative investments.
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the Bank has invested around €2 billion in the country through 60 projects.
Spain is also a founding member of the EBRD and, since 1992, among EBRD donors with a contribution of more than €104 million. Moreover, EBRD joint investments with Spanish companies amount to €4.3 million.
The EBRD is demonstrating its strong support for Morocco not only through investment but through the opening of an office in Tangiers in September 2017 and in Agadir in December 2019, as well as its headquarters in Casablanca. As a result of this commitment, the EBRD has become a leading international development institution in the financing of the private sector in Morocco.
Banco Sabadell Branch Casablanca (BSC) was established in 2009 as the Moroccan branch of Spain’s fourth-largest banking group, Banco Sabadell SA (BS). Its activity is mostly focused on the SME market, whose financing has been a vocation for the Banco Sabadell group since its inception.
In Morocco, BSC stands out for its strong support of both local subsidiaries of Spanish groups and companies with 100 per cent Moroccan capital.
