US rating agency Fitch Ratings predicts GDP growth in Morocco of 3% in 2023, after a slowdown to 1.1% in 2022, due to a 15% contraction in agricultural production as a result of drought.
In its new report on the country’s seven largest banks, published on Wednesday July 26, Fitch stressed that, thanks to their resilience in a delicate national and global economic context, these groups could achieve positive, albeit “modest”, performances in 2023.
The business outlook for Moroccan banks in 2023 is in fact linked to “moderate economic activity,” given that “banks’ non-consolidated credit fell by 1% in May, as rising interest rates dampened demand from businesses and households, while banks became more selective in their lending in order to reduce credit risk,” said the agency.
Moroccan banks have also become slightly more profitable than in 2022. This indicator should improve “at a faster pace in 2023”, stresses the same source.
Capitalization remained stable at around 10%, with forecasts of a slight improvement by the end of the year.
In addition to global macroeconomic uncertainties and the slowdown observed among Morocco’s main trading partners, factors affecting the business outlook include persistent inflation and unemployment, according to Fitch Ratings.
However, the rating agency stresses that there remains sufficient room for maneuver to withstand shocks.