Moroccan bank Attijari posts higher first half profit

AttijariWafabank, Morocco’s biggest bank, posted a 2.8 percent rise in its net consolidated income to 2.7 billion dirhams ($300 million) after a strong increase in revenues from activities other than lending.

The bank, controlled by a conglomerate led by the Moroccan royal family, said lending income rose 4.9 percent to 5.1 billion dirhams while income from other activities, such as corporate banking and brokerage, rose 17.6 percent to a combined 3.3 billion dirhams.

The annual growth in the first-half profits is far below last year’s 15 percent rise. The crisis in the euro zone and the effects of bad weather led Morocco to cut economic growth projections and the domestic market is feeling the pinch from scarcer liquidity.

AttijariWafa’a shares were up by over 1 percent by 1133 GMT having inched down marginally at the start of trading.