Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE Bank) announced in a statement published on March 28, it made a net profit of 1.9 billion dirham ($201.76 million) in 2015, up 1% from 2014.

African subsidiaries of the group (Bank of Africa, La Congolaise de Banque and Development Bank of Mali) which is owned by Moroccan billionaire Othman Benjelloun (picture) contributed to 30% of its net profit in 2015, against 27% only in 2014.

The slight increase in net profit is mainly due to bad debts rising. Total volume of these debts indeed was of 7.3 billion dirham at December 31, 2015 against 6.9 billion dirham at the same date in 2014.

Profitability of the bank’s private equity fell 13% during the past year against 13.7% the year before, while its total assets surged by 13% to 279.42 billion dirham.

Renamed BMCE Bank of Africa in 2015 to better reflect its pan-African dimension, BMCE Bank operates in 20 African nations.