| BMCE Bank was established
on September 1, 1959, to promote overseas trade and
finance the import and export activities of Moroccan
industry. The Bank’s continued commitment to
fulfilling this vital role is evident in its control
of nearly 30% of the foreign trade finance market.
While it has become somewhat clichéd to label
a particular corporate leader as a visionary, in the
case of Othman Benjelloun, Chairman and CEO of Banque
Marocaine Du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE Bank),
the accolade is not only deserved, but in many ways
seems inadequate. In the eight short years that Benjelloun
has been at the helm of what is now known as the BMCE
Bank Group, it has become one of Morocco’s leading
financial services providers, with total assets of
over $5 billion. He assumed control over the Bank’s
operations in 1995 after a consortium of Moroccan
and foreign investors, led by the Benjelloun-controlled
Royale Marocaine d’Assurances (RMA), placed the
highest bid during the Bank’s privatization.
Benjelloun’s overriding goals as Chairman and
CEO are “to modernize the Moroccan banking sector
and act as an ally of the public authorities in promoting
the opening up and the competitiveness of the Moroccan
economy.”
BMCE Bank has an expansive domestic banking network
that today employs about 2700 people in 210 branches
throughout the Kingdom. In 2001, BMCE was granted
the "Bank of the Year Award" for the second
consecutive year by The Banker, a specialized magazine
of the Financial Times Group. In the same year, BMCE
became the first Moroccan bank to obtain ISO 9001
certification for its foreign and electronic payment
activities, as well as for custody. BMCE Bank Group
is one of the largest corporations on the Casablanca
Stock Exchange, holding 7% of the bourse’s capitalization
and nearly 24% of banking sector capitalization. In
1996, BMCE Bank became the first Moroccan financial
institution listed on the London Stock Exchange with
its launch of a $60 million Global Depositary Receipts
program. This enabled the bank to markedly increase
shareholder equity and to position itself as a leader
in the Moroccan banking industry.
Benjelloun’s strategy for the growth of the BMCE
Bank Group is focused upon the twin pillars of “finance
and telecommunications.” Early on, he realized
that access to corporate and retail insurance products
and the privatization of the telecommunications industry
were critical to the Kingdom’s economic development.
In 1999, BMCE acquired a majority holding in Al Wataniya
and Alliance Africaine, two of Morocco’s largest
insurance companies. Combining the assets of these
two companies with those of RMA, the Benjelloun-controlled
insurance entity, he created the first major insurance
group in the Kingdom’s history, with a total
market share of nearly 24%. BMCE financed the purchase
by working with RMA to secure a 160 million euro loan
from Germany’s Commerzbank. This was the first
loan of its kind for any Moroccan financial institution,
subscribed to by 25 international banks.
Benjelloun’s focus on emerging technologies and
potential applications in the banking and financial
services sector led BMCE Bank, together with the Group’s
insurance companies, to secure a 20% equity stake
in the capital of Méditelecom (Meditel). Meditel
became the first private telecom operator in Morocco
during the initial stage of the privatization of Morocco’s
telecommunications industry. Maroc Telecom, the state
provider of telephone and Internet services, was forced
to lower its prices and improve customer service in
response to the competition from Meditel. Saad Bendidi,
Vice President and General Manager of Finance.com,
a BMCE Bank Group holding company, called this competition
“not just an evolution (of the industry), but
in fact a revolution.”
BMCE Bank is developing a prepaid account card co-branded
with Meditel that allows customers to access a predetermined
amount of cash from the Bank’s network of ATMs
until the money is depleted. Functioning in the same
way as a prepaid phone card, this product allows BMCE
to expand its customer base while at the same time
enhancing its innovative image.
BMCE Bank Group is comprised of several distinct yet
complementary banking units:
BMCE International is a key player in Moroccan foreign
trade, just as it has been for the past 44 years.
BMCE International caters to the needs of investors
wishing to conduct business in Morocco, as well as
the extensive Moroccan expatriate community. It became
the first Moroccan bank to establish a presence abroad
when it opened its Paris location in 1972. Since that
time, BMCE has dedicated itself to establishing an
extensive international network of branches and representative
offices throughout Europe. It has positioned itself
well to take full advantage of the EU-Morocco Association
Agreement’s ongoing liberalization of trade regulations,
and it will hold the pole position following the imminent
signing of the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
BMCE International provides a full range of services
for its customers in its Paris, London, Frankfurt,
Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Beijing and the Tangier
Free Zone locations. The completion of the FTA negotiations
will only add to the business possibilities for BMCE
International.
BMCE Bank’s commercial activities are divided
into corporate and retail banking. A recent survey
found that Moroccans consider BMCE Bank to be a prestigious
corporate and foreign trade bank. While it remains
the financial institution of choice for many of Morocco’s
largest firms, BMCE Bank has recently embarked upon
a program to develop its relationship with small and
medium size enterprises and investors by providing
venture capital to qualified applicants and offering
a wide range of advisory services tailored to the
specific needs of its clients.
Evidence of the high priority retail banking has in
the strategy of the BMCE Bank Group is found in the
ever-more diversified range of consumer products that
it continues to roll out on a regular basis. A number
of innovative products are being developed that take
advantage of the latest in information technology.
At the same time, the usual savings and checking accounts
and consumer loan programs expected of a full service
bank are available. Internet and tele-banking services
developed by the bank provide customers with the latest
tools for participating in Morocco’s emerging
cyber-economy. Some companies will soon be offering
their employees with BMCE Bank accounts electronic
salary cards that function as paychecks in lieu of
cash or check payments. BMCE is the leader in electronic
payment cards in the Moroccan market, with over 400,000
currently in circulation.
After starting almost from scratch in 1998, BMCE Capital
is now the largest investment banking group in Morocco.
Headed since its inception by General Manager Jaloul
Ayed, BMCE Capital is positioning itself to become
a major player on the African continent. The division
opened an office in Dakar, Senegal in March of 2003,
and it now boasts the largest commercial bank in Mali.
Through this activity in sub-Saharan Africa, BMCE
has now consolidated its presence in the West African
Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) zone. In 2002,
“MedCapital” was created to focus on offshore
asset management, targeting investors interested in
foreign and expatriate funds. Ayed explained that
BMCE Capital’s strategy “is to build conduits
of business flow between Africa, Europe, the Arabian
Gulf, and Morocco.” BMCE Capital Markets is the
largest private trading room on the African continent
outside of South Africa. Discussions are underway
for the establishment of a trading platform in the
Gulf region.
BMCE Bank offers other financial services through
its specialized financial subsidiaries. MAGHREBAIL
has been the Moroccan leader in leasing services since
its founding in 1972. Maroc Factoring is a pioneer
in the field, offering its clients a number of services,
including the management and collection of invoices
for its customers. ACMAR is the only credit insurance
operator in Morocco. SALAFIN offers a package of retail
products that include the financing of vehicle purchases,
revolving credit cards, retail leasing, and personal
loans through employer agreements.
Benjelloun takes the issue of corporate citizenship
very seriously. On December 15, 1995 he created the
BMCE Bank Foundation. The Foundation’s two essential
missions are conservation of the environment and promotion
of education integrated into sustainable development
in the rural regions.
Nearly 55% of Moroccans are illiterate, with the greatest
concentrations in rural areas and among women. In
order to combat this obstacle to sustainable development,
the BMCE Bank Foundation set out to build one thousand
schools in rural areas through the Medersat.com (Your
School) program. The driving force behind this program
is to give all children and adults in these areas
a real chance to reach a level of education that will
enable them to become positive forces for development
and able to contribute to an environment of openness
and tolerance in their own communities. BMCE Bank
was awarded the 2002 Corporate Citizenship Award in
the Large Enterprises Category by the American Chamber
of Commerce in Morocco and the Moroccan Employers
Federation (CGEM), for the achievements of the Medersat.com
program.
Benjelloun’s commitment to education is not confined
to improving the lives of illiterate rural women and
to ensuring full access to education for both girls
and boys throughout the Kingdom. As the Co-Founder
and Chancellor of Al Akhawayn University, located
in the idyllic Atlas mountain village of Ifrane, he
has played a leading role in the development of the
future leaders of Morocco. Students at Al Akhawayn
must study a rigorous American-based curriculum, taught
in English, which prepares the country’s best
young minds to be ready to mold Morocco into a legitimate
competitor in the international economy of the 21st
century. Coupled with the initiatives in rural education,
it is clearly Benjelloun’s most important legacy
to the Kingdom of Morocco.
Benjelloun’s motivation in heading the BMCE
Bank Group and the BMCE Bank Foundation is best
summed up in his own words. “Those who have
the privilege of important responsibilities in the
business world certainly have rights, but even more
so, they have duties…to undertake actions and
projects which serve the general interest of their
fellow citizens.” Whether he is preparing to
sign a major business deal or to secure financing
for a rural development project, Benjelloun is committed
to one single purpose. This is nothing less than
freeing his fellow countrymen and women from the
endemic poverty and disenfranchisement that chafes
at the collective soul of the Moroccan people. The
fact that men such as Othman Benjelloun are addressing
such pressing needs is a positive sign that sustainable
development can exist and even succeed in Morocco.
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