90% of Moroccans prefer Islamic banks

More than 90 percent of Moroccans are not satisfied in dealing with loans based on banking interest and prefer Islamic banks according to a study by international institutions for Islamic Finance and Insurance Advisory Services (IFAS). The report analysed  Moroccans’ interest in financial Islamic services and products, and their situation regarding the traditional financing based on interest and retail business. The report also stated that Moroccans’ dealing with traditional banks (based on interest) was due to a lack of choice; as a huge number of Moroccans confirmed that they are forced to deal with traditional banks because Islamic banks were still not available in Morocco. On the other hand,  IFAS revealed that Islamic banks can witness remarkable development in Morocco. According to IFAS, the report depended on field questionnaires with the aim of identifying the real image of Moroccan consumers. The sample consisted of men and women aged from 18 to 55, reflecting different economic and social categories. The study included different Moroccan cities and neighbouring districts: Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Agadir, Fez, Tangier and Oujda. The chairman of Morocco Bank (Bank al-Maghrib) recently carried out consultations with different banking polls in Morocco to facilitate an "Islamic Faisal Bank" to enter the market. He discussed how the finance sector will deal with Islamic financing, still considered new despite the presence of Moroccan experts in the field. Its expected that the owner of the Islamic Faisal Bank, Prince Faisal Al Saud,  will visit Morocco next September to meet Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane with the aim of acquiring the final authorisation for the first Islamic bank in the Moroccan banking market.