Morocco Launches $11.3 Billion Troubled Bank Debt Market

Morocco is preparing to launch a secondary market for non-performing bank debt estimated at $11.3 billion, after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, in partnership with the German group EOS Holding, announced the launch of a new investment tool called "DARP NPL EOS Morocco" to acquire and manage non-performing bank loans with Moroccan financial institutions. The details of the deal and according to the available data, IFC and EOS Holding Group will contribute up to to 30 million euros of capital per party, bringing the total size of the investment instrument to 60 million euros, equivalent to about 650 million dirhams. The project is expected to be approved by the IFC Board of Directors on October 15, 2026, as part of the first investment from IFC's DARP program in Morocco. The volume of non-performing debts in Morocco indicates that the volume of non-performing bank loans in Morocco amounted to 105.97 billion dirhams in May 2026, with an annual increase of 4.9%, bringing the NPL rate to 8.3% on a social basis. The majority of these debts are concentrated in the trade, industry, construction and public works sectors, which are the sectors most affected by the repayment difficulties of Moroccan banks. This data comes at a time when Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of the Kingdom, continues to follow the indicators of the quality of the credit portfolio of banks as part of its policy aimed at maintaining the stability of the national financial sector. Why does this project matter? The launch of this secondary market is intended to relieve pressure On the balance sheets of Moroccan banks, by missing part of their non-performing debts to entities specialized in managing and extracting them, which would free up more margin for granting new loans and supporting economic activity. As the first experiment of its kind in Morocco within the DARP program, the project is betting on setting a benchmark for pricing that will reduce the uncertainty of potential investors in this emerging market, which may later encourage other parties to enter this type of investment in Morocco.