International cooperation and institutional relations

 

I.  Cooperation with central banks and other banking supervision authorities 

For over a decade, Bank Al-Maghrib has undertaken efforts to strengthen cooperation with other central banks to develop and facilitate the exchange of experience and expertise in the areas of their duties.

 

A. Cooperation agreements pertaining to banking supervision

  1. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea.
  2. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the French Banking Commission (7 March 2006).
  3. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Bahrain (28 April 2006).
  4. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Banking and Financial Supervision Commission of Madagascar (19 March 2015).
  5. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation between Bank Al-Maghrib and the Central Bank of Djibouti (18 April 2015).
  6. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Banking Commission of the West African Monetary Union (29 May 2009), renewed on 3 November 2016.
  7. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central African Banking Commission (12 September 2011), renewed on 14 November 2016.
  8. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with China Banking Regulatory Commission (10 June 2016) (press release).
  9. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Rwanda (22 March 2017).
  10. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Jordan (29 June 2017).
  11. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Tanzania (12 September 2017).
  12. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Qatar (12 March 2018).
  13. Agreement on cooperation in banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Mauritania (21 May 2018).
  14. Cooperation agreement on banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Tunisia (28 November 2007), renewed on 16 November 2018 (press release).
  15. Cooperation agreement on banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with Dubaï Financial Services Authority (13 March 2019) (press release).
  16. Cooperation agreement on banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Bank of Mauritius (18 October 2019) (press release).
  17. Cooperation agreement on banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt (18 October 2019).
  18. Cooperation agreement on banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Central Bank of Kenya (5 May 2020).
  19. Cooperation agreement on banking supervision, exchange of information and general cooperation with the Bank of the Republic of Burundi.

B. General cooperation agreements

  1. Memorandum of Understanding with the Bahrain Monetary Agency (April 28, 2006).
  2. Cooperation Agreement with the Central Bank of Mauritania (January 22, 2007).
  3. Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Bank of Qatar (February 23, 2011).
  4. Cooperation Agreement between Bank Al-Maghrib and the Bank of Central African States (September 12, 2011) (press release).
  5. Cooperation Agreement with the Central Bank of West African States (March 29, 2013) (press release). 
  6. Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank of Spain (December 9, 2016) (press release).
  7. Cooperation agreement with the Central Bank of Djibouti (October 14, 2017) (press release).
  8. Memorandum of understanding with the Palestinian Monetary Authority (October 14, 2017) (press release).
  9. Cooperation Agreement with the Banque de France (March 16, 2018).
  10. Cooperation agreement with the Bank of Portugal (November 14, 2018) (press release).
  11. Cooperation agreement with the Tunisian Central Bank (November 16, 2018) (press release). 
  12. Cooperation agreement with the Bank of Mauritius (October 18, 2019) (press release).
  13. Cooperation Agreement between Bank Al-Maghrib and Magyar Nemzeti Bank (March 29, 2021) (press release).
  14. MoU for Bilateral Cooperation between Bank Al-Maghrib and the Central Bank of Russian Federation (September 24, 2021) (press release).

In figures, since 2007 till now, more than 200 cooperation actions have been carried out by Bank Al-Maghrib for the benefit of its staff and no less than 250 study visits and exchange sessions have been conducted within the Bank by more than 600 executives and staff members from Central Banks in the Arab, African, Asian and Caribbean regions.

 
II. Relations with international financial institutions

In accordance with Article 13 of its Statutes, Bank Al-Maghrib represents Morocco in the international financial and monetary institutions established to promote international cooperation in monetary and financial fields. In this regard, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Governors, regularly conducts a delegation of the Bank to take part in the events of this Institution. Bank Al-Maghrib also represents Morocco during the meetings organized by other multilateral and regional Institutions.

 

On April 25, 1958, Morocco joined the IMF and accepted obligations under Article VIII of the IMF Articles of Agreement, covering inter alia the dirham’s convertibility for the purposes of current transactions on January 21, 1993. Besides the obligations under other provisions of the IMF Articles of Agreement, Morocco undertook to discharge the following obligations: 

 

  1. Avoidance of restrictions on current payments
  2. Avoidance of discriminatory currency practices
  3. Convertibility of foreign-held balances
  4. Furnishing of information
  5. Consultation between members regarding existing international agreements
  6. Obligation to collaborate regarding reserve assets policies.

 

On December 15, 2015, Morocco subscribed to the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), and became the 62nd Member State and the 3rd among Middle-Eastern countries. Morocco’s adherence to the SDDS reflects a strong commitment to transparency and a major step in the implementation of internationally recognized good practices in statistics.

 

As for its Representation in the IMF, Morocco is a member of the seven-country group including Afghanistan, Algeria, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan and Tunisia. Our Group is represented at the IMF Board of Governors by an executive director and an alternate director, respectively of Iranian and Moroccan nationalities. The Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib represents Morocco at the IMF Board of Governors. 

 

Morocco’s economy is regularly monitored through on-site visits by the IMF staff- once a year in general. These missions aim to allowing exchange of views with the government and the central bank, assessing the recent national economic developments and perspectives and considering any potential risks. Discussions with the IMF teams mainly focus on monetary and change policy, fiscal policy, as well as macro-critical structural reforms. At the end of their mission, the IMF staff submit a report to the Executive Board for discussion and the latter’s views are subsequently transmitted to the country’s authorities.

 

Finally, and in accordance with Article 14 of its Statutes, Bank Al-Maghrib participates in the negotiation of international financial agreements and may be in charge of their execution. For example, the Bank has led, jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the negotiation process with the IMF that resulted in the conclusion of an arrangement under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) 2012, and its renewal in 2014 and 2016.

 
III. Consultation with professional associations

Together with the professional associations of the financial sector (the Moroccan Bankers Association, the Professional Association of Finance Companies,  the National Federation of Microcredit Associations and the Professional Association of Payment Institutions), Bank Al-Maghrib has set up a consultation platform to discuss the main issues concerning the activity of credit institutions and similar bodies.

 

Periodic meetings are organized between the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib and the members of these associations in order to discuss the reforms and issues pertaining directly or indirectly to the banking sector, and to examine the implementation of the common roadmaps defined by both parties.

 

During these meetings, the main topics discussed focus on the development of the banking sector and the main risks associated with it, regulatory reform projects, the conditions of financing the economy, financial inclusion, customer protection and payment systems.

 

The follow-up of the actions included in the roadmaps is carried out through thematic commissions set up within these associations (regulation, consumer protection, payment means and systems, small and medium-sized enterprises (VSMEs), etc.) and in which the different departments of the central bank participate (Banking Supervision Department, Division of the Oversight of Payment Systems and Means and Financial Inclusion, Monetary and Foreign Exchange Operations Department, etc.).

 

As part of its consultation process, Bank Al-Maghrib systematically submits to the opinion of the members of these professional associations the draft regulations governing their activity.

 

In the context of its actions to promote the financing of VSMEs, Bank Al-Maghrib maintains cooperative relations with the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM). It works with this confederation to create a favorable environment for the financing of VSMEs and to examine the measures needed to revitalize the financing of the economy.

 

For this purpose, the CGEM has participated with Bank Al-Maghrib and other stakeholders concerned by VSMEs in the organization of several national awareness campaigns on the financing of this category of enterprises.

 

Also and under the auspices of Bank Al-Maghrib, the CGEM also participated with the Moroccan Bankers Association in the elaboration of a memorandum submitted to the Government, highlighting the measures pertaining to both its three parties as well as the government sphere for revitalizing the financing of the economy and stimulating economic growth. 

 

For this purpose, the CGEM has participated with Bank Al-Maghrib and other stakeholders concerned by VSMEs in the organization of several national awareness campaigns on the financing of this category of enterprises.

 

Also and under the auspices of Bank Al-Maghrib, the CGEM also participated with the Moroccan Bankers Association in the elaboration of a memorandum submitted to the Government, highlighting the measures pertaining to both its three parties as well as the government sphere for revitalizing the financing of the economy and stimulating economic growth.

 

 

Agreements entered into by Bank Al-Maghrib - view the press releases
Press realeases

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