Finance and Economic Development Committee at the House of Representatives Discusses “Bank Al-Maghrib and Investment Situation” with the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib
The Finance and Economic Development Committee at the House of Representatives held a meeting on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, moderated by Mr. Mohamed Chaouki, the Chairperson of the Committee, and in the presence of Mr. Abdellatif Jouahri, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, on “Bank Al-Maghrib and the investment situation.”
The meeting took place under the provisions of Article 45 of the Statue of Bank Al-Maghrib. Accordingly, the Committee invited the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib to discuss the abovementioned theme after the members of its Bureau had agreed on the importance and timeliness of the meeting.
The meeting also aims to address the issue of entrepreneurs' access to bank financing, to analyze monetary policy data in the light of the Covid-19 crisis, and the role of this policy, along with the other public policies and government programs, in addressing the challenges of economic takeoff, advancing entrepreneurial initiatives and boosting their competitiveness to create more job opportunities.
The meeting was an opportunity for the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib to give a detailed presentation in which he noted the efforts deployed in the investment aspect. In this respect, he highlighted the inability of the rate in question, which averages 32% of the GDP, to achieve the aspired economic takeoff, in the sense of impacting the level of growth and creating jobs in proportion to the efforts made in this regard. The Governor also addressed the question of financing enterprises and the obstacles that hinder said investment.
The meeting, which reflects an aspect of cooperation between the House of Representatives and Bank Al-Maghrib, was a core milestone in highlighting the extent of the Bank's contribution to the reforms aimed at improving the business climate through some initiatives and measures undertaken to mitigate the impact of the health crisis and stimulate economic recovery. In this vein, the Central Bank activated all the necessary traditional and nontraditional instruments in all its intervention scopes.
On the same occasion, the Representatives underlined several problems and constraints enterprises face in accessing bank financing, particularly the collaterals required by banks. The House members also noted the struggle of small and medium-sized enterprises with the increase of the commissions imposed on them by banks without considering the deterioration of their situation due to Covid-19. In this regard, they linked these obstacles to the question of confidence as a key component in the relation between banks and enterprises. At the same time, they noted the need for banks to accompany this category of enterprises.
The participants in the meeting also tackled the issue of the rise in the prices of certain consumer goods, its impact on the buying power of citizens, as well as the role of the Bank in maintaining price stability.
The Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib concluded the meeting by stressing the imperative of joining forces to address the challenges related to improving the growth rate and creating more job opportunities to achieve what our country needs to ameliorate the population's standard of living. Mr. Jouahri further affirmed his pride in the national banking system, which has the features and pillars of resilience to crises. In the same regard, he proposed the convention of a tripartite meeting between the Finance and Economic Development Committee at the House of Representatives, Bank Al-Maghrib and the Moroccan Bankers Association to discuss questions that concern the relations between banks and their clients, as well as the role of banks in supporting enterprise investments.