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Rabat – Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al Maghrib (BAM), said that Morocco’s official reserve assets amounted to MAD 289 billion ($29.9 billion) as of June 12, marking an increase of 21.7% compared to the same period in 2019.
The interbank rate has reached 1.99%, BAM indicated in a press release. The interbank rate is the interest charged on short-term loans between banks.
The Moroccan Dirham appreciated by 0.79% against the Euro and depreciated against the Dollar by 0.36% during the same period.
As part of its action plan to mitigate the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis on Morocco’s economy, BAM injected MAD 101.3 billion ($10.5 billion) between the second and third weeks of June.
The Moroccan economy has known several ups and downs due to the COVID-19-induced economic crisis, but the bank has set measures to cope with the impact, such as reducing the key rate by a further 50 basis points, lowering it to 1.5%.
The reduction follows a 25-basis-point cut to the key rate last March, aiming to “fully liberate the reserve account in favor of the banks,” said Bank al Maghrib in a statement on June 16.
The central bank decided during its board meeting for the second quarter of 2020, the same day, to refinance bank credit for participatory banks and microcredit associations, as well as facilitate the improved eligibility of refinancing operations.
In addition to this set of actions, Morocco received on June 16 approval for a $48 million loan from the World Bank, with the same objective of facing the COVID-19 crisis. The loan is also part of the 2015 Program for Results project to support primary health care services.
World Bank Maghreb Country Director Jesko Hentschel expressed his satisfaction with Morocco’s COVID-19 response, indicating that the government has already taken “significant steps to contain the outbreak and lessen impact on vulnerable sectors and households.”
The central bank expects the inflation rate to remain at a moderate level, approximately 1%, in 2020 and 2021.
