Moroccan banks closed a net 151 branches in 2025 as lenders continued to shrink their physical networks amid rising digital banking adoption and cost-cutting efforts, central bank data showed.
Bank Al-Maghrib said in its latest branch network report that banks shut 180 branches and opened 29 during the year, reducing the total number of branches to 5,550 from 5,701 in 2024.
The contraction was driven almost entirely by conventional banks, whose networks shrank to 5,331 branches from 5,486. Offshore banks maintained nine branches, while participative, or Islamic, banks expanded to 210 branches from 206 after opening four new outlets.
Morocco’s banking sector, one of Africa’s most developed, has increasingly shifted customers toward digital channels while lenders seek to reduce operating costs by closing overlapping or underused branches.
Among the country’s largest lenders, Crédit Populaire du Maroc recorded the biggest reduction, closing 66 branches and opening one to end the year with 1,269 outlets. Bank of Africa closed 43 branches, reducing its network to 593, while Attijariwafa Bank shut 27 branches and opened two, leaving it with 904.
Some banks continued to expand. Al Barid Bank opened seven branches to reach 950, making it the country’s second-largest banking network, while CIH Bank added 13 branches to end the year with 346.
Casablanca-Settat, Morocco’s largest banking market, recorded the biggest regional decline, with its network shrinking to 1,559 branches from 1,612. Rabat-Salé-Kénitra fell to 829 branches from 854.
Only Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra recorded a net increase, adding one branch to reach 74, while Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab remained unchanged at 32 branches.
Bank Al-Maghrib estimated Morocco’s banking density at one branch for every 4,862 adults in 2025, based on demographic projections from the country’s 2024 census. Access varied significantly across regions, with Casablanca-Settat recording the highest branch density and Drâa-Tafilalet the lowest.
Faustine Ngila is the AI Editor at Impact Newswire, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an award-winning journalist specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and emerging technologies.
He previously worked as a global technology reporter at Quartz in New York and Digital Frontier in London, where he covered innovation, startups, and the global digital economy.
With years of experience reporting on cutting-edge technologies, Faustine focuses on AI developments, industry trends, and the impact of technology on society.
Ruth First (South Africa – historical)
Most Impactful Work: Her extensive coverage of anti-apartheid movements and her books like 117 Days.
Short Bio: A formidable anti-apartheid activist and journalist, Ruth First was a prominent figure in South African media during the 1940s and 1950s. She edited several progressive newspapers and her work consistently exposed the injustices of the apartheid system. She was assassinated by South African government forces in 1982.
Jersey
Fun South African Fact: Some of the earliest evidence of human evolution has been unearthed at fossil sites northwest of Johannesburg in the Sterkfontein Caves! Archaeologists have discovered human remains here, some of which are more than 2 million years old! These discoveries have earned the area the title of “the Cradle of Humankind” which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
mr. lucky
Fun South African Fact: Three different destinations make up South Africa’s capital cities. This is to represent the South African government being divided into three sections. Cape Town is the legislative capital, Pretoria is the administrative capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. Interestingly, Parliament meetings take place for six months in Cape Town and six months in Pretoria.