Bank Al-Maghrib has granted 4 banking licenses to Islamic banks in Morocco. Two independent banks and two other subsidiaries of the traditional banking sector will be able to operate from now on and offer their services to the public. Two independent Islamic banks and two subsidiaries have been given the green light to start operating in the Kingdom based on the principles of Islamic law, as Abdesslam Bellaji, an expert in Islamic Banking and the head of the Moroccan Association of Islamic Economy told Yabiladi. «Islamic banking has been given the green light and started operating yesterday», he insisted adding that «Assafaa bank has inaugurated its services». For the record, Attijariwafabank group have decided to make of «Dar Assafaa» an independent bank and name it «Assafaa bank». On the other hand, Umnia bank, which is a joint venture that was created by the Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) and CIH has also been launched and will «open its agencies in Agdal, Rabat and Casablanca», Abdesslam Bellaji stated. The two other subsidiaries that started operating alongside the two independent banks are Dar Al-Amane which belongs to Societé Generale, and Negma affiliated to BMCE Bank of Africa group. «10% of the subsidiaries can provide a space for Islamic banking offers» Trying to differentiate between independent Islamic banks and its branches, Abdesslam Bellaji explained that the new banking institutions are meant to work independently with their own shareholders while the subsidiaries will receive the right to establish counters within the bank branches. «These specialised counters will not be present in all branches, as only 10% of the subsidiaries will be able to open accounts to offer Islamic products to their customers». For Islamic banks, the professor insists that the number of subsidiaries will reach 20. As a matter of fact, it is sufficient to have an authorization from Bank Al-Maghrib to launch a new agency. «For the moment, four other applications are awaiting approval», Bellaji points out indicating that «they shall be granted in the upcoming days». Legal and administrative procedures delay the finalization of the files of Islamic banks, said last week to Yabiladi the president of the Moroccan Association of Islamic Economy. «As soon as the first products are launched, other procedures will be implemented such as Takaful Islamic Insurance and the advice of the Shariah Committee on this insurance products. Bank Al-Maghrib's Wali has not yet proposed tax measures for fair competition between banking institutions and participating banks,» he explained. Abdeslam Balaji does not rule out that these suggestions are included in the current Finance Law, debated by the Parliament.
