(ANSAmed) – RABAT, JUNE 12 – In Morocco, financing by banks is the tool most widely used by economic operators, with the bank financing rate of the Moroccan economy at 77%, a figure some way above other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and a comparable rate of development at around 58%. However not all sectors of the national economy enjoy financing that is in proportion with their contribution to the creation of wealth. Although they account for 25% of Morocco’s GDP, trade and agriculture receive little more than 6% each of bank financing given out across the kingdom. The agricultural sector has the most marked imbalance, contributing 14.4% to GDP but receiving only 6.1% of bank financing, La Vie Eco writes.
The reasons for this are thought to be historical. With the exception of Morocco’s Credit Agricole, ”banks have not developed specific knowledge in financing of this sector, which needs the implementation of custom-made products,” a specialist in business finance tells La Vie Eco. A bank manager, meanwhile, says that the figures are justified by important state subsidies towards agriculture, though he admits that banks are wary of significant exposure in this sector.
Another sector that does not receive financing in proportion with the wealth that it produces is commerce, which contributes 10.6% to GDP and receives 6.2% of the credit payments in return.
In this case, the reasons are thought to be linked to the prevalence of small entrepreneurs, who make up 99% of retail outlets and 86% of commercial area in the country, and who rarely rely on bank financing, unless for small functioning credit, not least because they would rarely be able to meet banking guarantee requirements.
At the moment, it is mainly organised commerce, with large-scale retail dominant, that draws the financing given to the sector. The situation, however, could become slightly rebalanced, thanks to initiatives that the biggest local banks are planning to launch for micro-businesses, following the recent guarantee fund ”Demane Express”, which was made available by the country’s central guarantee bank (CCG). The sector with the lowest contribution to GDP (6.8%) in relation to the banking credits it receives (13.3% of the total) is construction and public works. The imbalance is linked to the nature of activity and they type of operators used in the sector. Businesses in the sector also need liquidity due to the delay in payments by public consigners, who represent 70% of the total of works. (ANSAmed).
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