Reuters
Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) said on Monday it had obtained a 100 million euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to finance small and medium-sized businesses.
It is the second tranche of an agreement signed previously with the EBRD. BCP, one of Morocco’s three biggest lenders, received 50 million euros from the European lender in 2013.
“The loan will be used in euro or Moroccan dirham … and will allow BCP to support the small and medium-sized businesses,” the statement said.
Last year, Standard & Poors lowered its rating on BCP to ‘BB+/B’ with a stable outlook, citing the cash-strapped government’s weaker capacity to support BCP, if required.
BCP posted a 12.7 percent rise in half-year net profit to 1.1 billion dirham ($11.3 million) on the back of a big increase in retail and investment banking income.
(1 US dollar = 8.8500 Moroccan dirham) (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; editing by David Clarke)
