(Ecofin Agency) - After securing €13 million in financing from the EBRD last November, Moroccan banking group BOA is once more reaching out to the European lender for more support. 

The Bank of Africa (BOA) group is seeking €50 million ($54.6 million) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Morrocan group says it will use the financing to support SMEs in Morocco. 

"This transaction will help BOA to finance SMEs, which form the core of the Moroccan economy, but remain underserved by the banking sector. The loan is denominated in euros, which will help BOA finance its foreign currency activities amid difficult times spurred by the Ukraine war," ERBD wrote in a note released on May 9th. 

EBRD is currently assessing the request and should give its response by June 14. If it gets the loan, BOA plans to retrocede all or part of the money to its leasing and consumer credit subsidiaries, respectively Maghrebail (in which BOA has a 52.46% stake) and Salafin (a 62% stake).

Bank of Africa and the ERBD have been partners for over a decade. In November 2022, the European lender loaned €13 million to BOA, to better support SMEs that invest in green and technology projects in Morocco. The line of credit was an extension of a €25 million financing the Moroccan group obtained in September 2021.

The BOA group is the third largest bank in Morocco in terms of total assets and loans (as of December 31, 2022). It is present in 32 countries, including 20 in Africa. Its main shareholder is O Capital Group, a private Moroccan company, which directly and indirectly holds 35.51% of BOA's shares (as of December 31, 2022)

Chamberline Moko

Translated from French by Schadrac Akinocho