Morocco

In recent years Morocco's foreign policy objectives have focused on spearheading intra-African cooperation, combating extremism and positioning itself at the centre of Europe-Africa relations. On these three and other fronts, the kingdom made notable progress in 2019.

In recent years Morocco’s banking sector has experienced a period of consolidation at home and expansion abroad following a surge in lending in the decade leading to 2012. The country’s leading banks are now among the largest in Africa, with extensive continent-wide holdings. Despite GDP growth trending lower and the associated slowdown in...

The first cryptocurrency transaction in history was feted in just two words: “Running Bitcoin”, which came in the form of a tweet on January 11, 2009 by Hal Finney, a US software developer. Some 10 years and over 1600 initial coin offerings later, the world of crypto-, virtual and other digital currencies looks to have provoked an active...

The three decades before the 2007-08 global financial crisis were marked by the world’s financial networks becoming increasingly interconnected. Financial system regulatory convergence, the growing penetration of World Trade Organisation rules and the creation of currency unions, such as the euro, resulted in a surge in cross-border capital...

As businesses and governments worldwide seek to finance the vast investments required for projects to combat climate change and make the global economic model more environmentally sustainable, green bonds have become a popular capital market vehicle. The products are typically structured like a corporate or sovereign bond and asset-linked, but...

In the years since Morocco introduced sharia-compliant financial services in early 2017, local players have grown significantly and cultivated a strong market with diversified offerings, including various banking products, Islamic bonds (sukuk) and Islamic insurance (takaful). “Islamic banks, takaful companies, the regulator and...