[Morocco] Central Bank gives nod to five Muslim banks to start operations

Morocco’s Central Bank has approved five requests to open participative banks and allowed three banks to sell participative products in the northern African country.

These approvals concern CIH Bank in partnership with Qatar International Islamic Bank, BMCE Bank of Africa jointly with the Saudi/Bahraini group Dalla Al Baraka, Banque Centrale Populaire with the Saudi group Guidance (financial firm specializing in real estate financing), Crédit Agricole du Maroc jointly with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank (IBD), and Attijariwafa Bank, which is still conducting discussions for a future partnership, the Rabat-based Bank Al Maghrib said in a statement.

The central bank also authorized Banque Marocaine du Commerce et de l’Industrie, Crédit du Maroc and Société Générale to sell participative banking products.

In the framework of this activity, the Dahir (Royal Decree) on the Supreme Council of Ulema (religious scholars) was amended and supplemented to establish, from among its members, a Sharia Committee for Participative Finance, which is the sole authority empowered to issue fatwas on the compliance of participative finance products, the same source noted.

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