HIBAPRESS – w.m.a
The Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib, Abdellatif Jouahri, announced on Tuesday in Rabat that the central bank is working, in coordination with its partners, to expedite the establishment of a secondary market for non-performing loans with the aim of freeing up the financing capacities of banks and boosting the dynamism of loans.
Jouahri said, during a national conference organized in partnership with the Ministry of Justice on the effectiveness of the legal framework for the recovery of non-performing loans, that "the volume of non-performing loans in the banking sector, at the end of 2025, exceeds 100 billion dirhams, i.e. a default rate of about 8.2 percent, a level that remains high compared to international standards". He stressed that the continued presence of these debts within the budgets of banking institutions entails a number of negative effects, including the mobilization of significant financial resources and the restriction of the ability of these institutions to direct more financing for the benefit of the national economy. To address this situation, Bank Al-Maghrib is working, in coordination with its various partners, to launch a secondary market for non-performing loans, which would enable banking institutions to dispose of these assets, thereby contributing to improving the liquidity of the banking sector and enhancing its financing capacity. This project is based on the preparation of a draft law regulating the transfer of these debts, with technical support from the International Finance Corporation, with the aim of simplifying the procedures for disposing of debts, while ensuring the automatic transfer of the guarantees associated with them, and at the same time maintaining an appropriate level of protection of the rights of civilians, especially with regard to the protection of personal data. Jouahri also pointed to the review of the circular on the classification of bank debts during December 2025, where a new category of sensitive debts was included, and the conditions for debt restructuring were strengthened, and the definition of the default situation was expanded, noting that these reforms would enhance transparency and discipline in the management of credit risks at banking institutions. At the operational level, the Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib highlighted the importance of digitalization, through the establishment of platforms that organize auction sales, or the development of tools that facilitate to judges and experts the operations of calculating bank interest, determining the amounts of debts due, and facilitating the payment of court fees while ensuring the tracking of operations and files presented before the courts, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice. He also praised the adoption by banking institutions, under the supervision of Bank Al-Maghrib, of a code of ethics for transparency in the collection of debts owed by customers before resorting to the judiciary, and the code aims to consolidate the principles of responsibility, transparency and respect for the rights of customers, while giving priority to seeking amicable solutions. For his part, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Authority, Munir Al-Muntasir Billah, reviewed the main difficulties facing commercial courts, especially determining the amount of the debt, the probative force of account statements, the methods of calculating interest and commissions, tangible and personal guarantees, as well as the disposal of non-performing debts to others. He called for the development of an integrated vision based on four pillars, which are the valuation of the jurisprudential acquisitions of commercial courts, the accurate diagnosis of legal and procedural gaps, the formulation of targeted legislative interventions, as well as the strengthening of judicial specialization and the exchange of knowledge between the justice and banking sectors. Al-Muntasir Billah also praised the draft law on the direct disposal of non-performing debts as an expected legislative response, provided that this is done under transparency and respect for the rights of consumers and personal data. This conference was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Presidency of the Public Prosecution, banking institutions, and professionals in the field of law, with the aim of formulating practical recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the legal framework for the collection of non-performing loans.
