BCP Appoints Adil Rzal as Group Risk Director

Marrakech – Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) announced Wednesday the appointment of Adil Rzal as Group Risk Director, describing it as a strategic decision amid tightening regulatory requirements and accelerating transformation across Morocco’s banking sector.

The BCP Board of Directors, meeting on Wednesday under President Naziha Belkeziz, named the 50-year-old executive to the newly emphasized position. Rzal previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Banque Populaire de Rabat-Kenitra.

Rzal brings 17 years of experience within the BCP Group, spanning private equity, banking operations, and leasing sectors. He holds an engineering degree from École Centrale de Paris.

The appointment reflects the bank’s “commitment to strengthening its governance and risk management framework at a time of accelerated transformation in the banking sector and increasing regulatory requirements,” BCP said in a statement.

The bank is coming off a revenue cycle that looks less like a one-off spike and more like a deliberate reset of its earnings engine in Morocco: stronger core banking fees and margins, a bigger contribution from market activities, and a steady grip on risk – while keeping an eye on scale and inclusion.

BCP’s 2024 performance marked a clear step-up: research coverage tracking the group’s results put 2024’s net banking income at MAD 25.6 billion ($2.56 billion), up about 12% year-on-year, with the jump heavily helped by market activities income in a favorable rate environment.

That strength carried into 2025. The bank reported net banking income of MAD 20.4 billion ($2.04 billion) for the first nine months, representing 4.2% growth driven by both core banking business (interest margin and fees) and improved market activities.

Reported indicators also show BCP sustaining a large deposit base – customer deposits around MAD 394 billion ($39.4 billion) at end-June 2025 (+5.5%) – which supports funding costs and balance-sheet flexibility in Morocco’s competitive banking market.

BCP’s ambitions look like a two-track strategy: deepen Morocco (digitally and commercially) while leveraging its pan-African footprint as a growth and diversification layer.

The bank has strengthened its African network through moves including finalizing control of BIA-Niger and expanding card offerings across Sub-Saharan subsidiaries (Banque Atlantique network and others) through partnerships with international payment providers.