Awards for Excellence 2017
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This year’s winner of best bank in Africa is a marked departure from last year’s. After Equity Bank’s win in 2016, thanks to its dominance in the small and medium-sized enterprise and digital banking sectors, this year we reward Attijariwafa Bank, a financial institution that has long been the best in Morocco and is now asserting its credentials in the rest of Africa.
Under the leadership of Mohamed El Kettani, Attijariwafa had a stunning year of growth, increasing its revenues and assets substantially, as well as its geographical reach, with the well-timed and well-executed acquisition of Barclays Egypt.
Attijariwafa’s expansion into Egypt is especially important. It demonstrates the Moroccan bank’s eagerness to become a pan-African institution and its shrewdness in the selection of the countries that it enters.
The bank had been waiting to enter the Egyptian market for more than four years, when it saw an opportunity in March 2016 in Barclays’ sale of its operations there. The acquisition, agreed with Barclays later that year, marks the start of Attijariwafa’s second phase of expansion in Africa.
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Mohamed El Kettani, Attijariwafa Bank |
In the first phase, between 2005 and 2010, Attijariwafa, a bank once active only in Morocco, spread through much of francophone west Africa. Now Attijariwafa is spreading its operations in non-francophone parts of the continent.
The bank’s total assets rose from Dh4.7 billion ($482 million) to Dh6.1 billion over the last year and profit before tax from Dh361 million to Dh467 million. Return on equity remained stable, at an impressive 30%.
Attijariwafa has worked hard over the last year to improve its offering to clients. It launched the first 100% mobile platform for banking services in Morocco, called L’bankalik. It also launched a new bank account package called Smart, complete with a contactless payment card.
Last year was also the first of Attijariwafa’s Energies 2020 plan, which aims to consolidate the bank’s leadership on the continent through technological innovation, continued geographical expansion and the improvement of its Moroccan offering, including to the country’s SMEs.
On all these counts, the bank has had a great start.
