Moroccan monetary authorities recently approved a $50 million deal by which the Moroccan Bank for Commerce and Industry (BMCI) has acquired a majority holding in the Moroccan subsidiary of the Dutch ABN Amro Bank, according to Al-Hayat. BMCI and ABN Amro boards of directors have already given their approval the takeover bid and a memorandum of agreement was signed in mid-June 2001.
The takeover deal thus transfers control over ABN Amro Morocco’s network of 20 branches throughout the kingdom, the head office in Casablanca and its representative office in Amsterdam, to BMCI. The bank employed a staff of 400. The acquisition is reportedly to be followed by a merger, making Moroccan Industry and Commerce Bank the fourth largest commercial bank in the Kingdom.
BMCI (La Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce et l'Industrie) was recently acquired by the French National De Pari Bank (BNP Paribas) for $50 million. It operates 93 branches, having started its activities in Morocco in 1943. The acquisition of Abn Amro Morocco brings BCMI’s control over ten percent of all commercial banking activities in the Kingdom.
Operating in Morocco since 1948, ABN AMRO decided to sell its activities in the country as part of the company’s strategy of restructuring its presence in markets worldwide. Within this framework, announcements of the intended sale of activities in Bolivia, Ecuador, Netherlands Antilles, Sri Lanka and Suriname have so far been made. — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
