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Rabat – Bank Al Tamweel wa Al Inma (BTI Bank), the participatory bank and joint venture between BMCE Bank of Africa and the Bahraini Al Baraka Banking group, is scheduled to start up in September 2017.
Al Baraka made the announcement in its financial communication for the first half of 2017. The Islamic bank of Bahrain said in its statement that it had completed “all the necessary procedures to launch our banking unit in Morocco, and we plan to start operations in September 2017 with our partner the Moroccan Bank of Commerce (BMCE Bank) under the name BTI Bank.”
The statement said that BTI Bank will be headed by Al Baraka Banking Group and will operate in its network of subsidiary banking units, currently located in 15 countries.
“The entry into the Moroccan market is a very important achievement, since it is considered as one of the main markets of the Maghreb and Africa,” the statement said.
Brahim Benjelloun-Touimi announced in an interview with Finances News Hebdo last April. He explained that the “will of the two founding shareholders BTI Bank is that retail banking customers, particularly private customers, are a prime target. The objective is, in an initial phase, to serve them through a score of agencies.”
After months of waiting, participatory banks received on July 20 the endorsement of the Higher Council of the Ulama, transmitted by Bank Al-Maghrib, the Moroccan central bank, for the launch of their activities.
For the time being, this involves basic operations like the opening of bank accounts and related services. These banks have also been authorized to grant real estate and car loans, called “Mourabaha,” but cannot offer insurance.
