Fitch Ratings-London/Paris/Tunis - Fitch Ratings has today upgraded Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce et l'Industrie's ("BMCI") Long-term National rating to 'AAA(mar)' from 'AA-(AA minus)(mar)' and Eqdom's Long- and Short-term National ratings to 'AA(mar)' from 'A+(mar)' and to 'F1+(mar)' from 'F1(mar)', respectively. BMCI's Short-term National rating is affirmed at 'F1+(mar)'. The Outlooks on the Long-term National ratings remain Stable and the Support ratings for both entities are affirmed at '3'. At the same time, the agency has upgraded BMCE Bank's ("BMCE") Support rating to '3' from '4'.
The upgrade of BMCI's and Eqdom's National ratings follows Fitch's revision of its National rating scale in Morocco. The National ratings of BMCI and Eqdom are underpinned by the support they can expect from their main shareholder, which are France's BNP Paribas ("BNPP", rated 'AA'/'F1+') and Societe Generale ("SG", rated 'AA'/'F1+') respectively. Their Support rating of '3' reflects Fitch's view that BNPP's and SG's propensities to support BMCI and Eqdom respectively in case of need are high but that the probability of such support is capped by the still fragile Moroccan economic environment.
The upgrade of BMCE's Support rating reflects Fitch's opinion that the Moroccan government's ability to provide support to BMCE in case of need has increased.
BMCI is the fourth-largest bank in Morocco, with around 9% and 13.6% market shares of deposits and loans respectively. Its capital is 65%-owned by BNPP, which effectively controls its strategy and day-to-day management. BMCI's ambition is to be recognised as one of Morocco's leading banks, offering high-quality services, targeting the upper-end of the market and building on its membership with the BNPP group. BMCI is closely integrated with its parent and benefits from BNPP's expertise and resources.
Eqdom is the second-largest consumer finance company in Morocco with an estimated 27% market share. Eqdom's capital is 35%-owned by Societe Generale Consumer Finance and 19%-owned by Societe Generale Marocaine de Banques (which are in turn 100%- and 53%-owned by SG, respectively) and SG has strong control and involvement in the company. Besides personal loans, which remain its primary business (82% of total loans at end-H106), Eqdom also offers equipment and car financing loans.
BMCE is Morocco's third-largest bank with around 15% market shares of deposits and loans at end-H106. It is 38%-owned by Finance.com, a holding company controlled by a prominent local family. Besides Finance.com, BMCE's shareholders include France's Credit Industriel et Commercial (10% stake). The rest of BMCE's shares are widely held.
Updated research on BMCI, Eqdom and BMCE will be available shortly on the agency's subscription website www.fitchresearch.com under Financial Institutions/Banks/Summary Pages.
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Note to Editors:
Fitch's National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as 'AAA(mar)' for National ratings in Morocco. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.
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© Press Release 2007
