The House of Representatives unanimously passed Bill No. 32.20, Monday, November 2nd, 2020, amending and supplementing Law No. 12.96 restructuring Groupe Crédit Populaire du Maroc. The Bill was adopted in a plenary session presided by Mr. Habib EL MALKI, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and attended by the Minister of Economy, Finance and Reform of Administration Mr. Mohamed BENCHAABOUN.
According to a statement of the House of Representatives, the Minister pointed out the overview of the Bill with regard to governance, reinforcing own-funds, the strategic vision of Crédit Populaire. He also emphasized the importance of Law No 12.96 governing cooperative banks, the role of credit institutions in financing the national economy, noting that the Bill is part of accommodating the provisions of Law on Crédit Populaire to the provisions of Law No. 103.12 on credit institutions and similar bodies (Banking Law), through advancing the governance of the steering committee of the Group. it aims as well to reinforce cooperative aspect of Groupe Crédit Populaire regionally and promote banking activity at both local and regional levels.
The Bill, which aims at reinforcing own-funds, suggests the decrease of capital owned by the Banque Populaire's regional branches of the capital of Banque Centrale Populaire from 51% to 34%, This will “reinforce the latter's capital base while the regional branches will remain key shareholders in the capital of the Banque Centrale Populaire.”
Considering the banking sector as one of key funding resources that economic actors resort to so as to meet their in-house resource needs, the strategic vision of Groupe Crédit Populaire has witnessed major transformations in its activities and presence in 30 countries. The growth path has been coupled with an increase in regulatory requirements both in Morocco and in other countries.
It should be noted that Crédit Populaire is composed of three bodies: The Banque Centrale Populaire, which is the Group's financial shield; the Regional Branches of Banque Populaire that are cooperative banks of variable capital with a board of Directors and a Supervisory Board; and the Steering Committee of Crédit Populaire.