VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0523/01 1390927
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 190927Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6664
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 2796
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0039
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0474
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 7592
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 1923
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L CASABLANCA 000523 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/MAG, EB/IFD, S/CT AND NEA/OFI 
PASS USAID FOR ANESA - J. RAGLAND 
TREASURY FOR OASIA - D PETERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2016 
TAGS: ECON EFIN KTFN MO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES AML, SME LENDING WITH THREE 
CASABLANCA BANKERS 
 
REF: RABAT 00730 
 
Classified By: 
Principal Officer Douglas Greene for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY: 
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¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION:  Ambassador Riley met with 
the Chairmen of three of Casablanca's largest banks -- 
Moroccan-owned BMCE Bank Group, government controlled Banque 
Centrale Populaire and French-owned Soci,t, Generale -- on 
April 26th to discuss compliance with pending Government of 
Morocco (GOM) Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation (Ref A) 
and bank lending to Small and Medium sized Enterprises 
(SMEs).  The Chairmen contrasted in style, but all three 
offered almost identical arguments for why Moroccan banks 
find it difficult to lend to SMEs.  The Chairmen criticized 
the accounting practices, and spending priorities, of small 
enterprises, although they expressed willingness to boost 
lending in response to increased SME transparency.  When 
asked about GOM pending AML legislation, both BMCE and SG 
expressed confidence that their banks are already compliant 
with pending AML standards. SG questioned the substance of 
the bill itself, suggesting strict enforcement could 
adversely impact Morocco's economy.  Meanwhile, BP subtly 
indicated that conformity to AML standards remains an 
institutional challenge.  END SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION. 
 
BMCE BANK GROUP 
 
¶2.  (C)  Ambassador Riley first met with Othman Benjelloun, 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BMCE Bank Group. 
Benjelloun's office bears all the trademarks of a Wall Street 
"Master of the Universe", including custom made leather 
furniture, a large flat-screen television broadcasting the 
latest financial news from Bloomberg and expensive art bought 
at auction from Christies in London.  Benjelloun carries 
himself with the gravitas and bearing of an elder statesman, 
befitting his stature as Chairman of BMCE and President of 
the Moroccan Banking Association.  Photos on the wall show 
him (and his much younger wife) in the presence of Former 
King Hassan II, King Juan Carlos of Spain and King Mohammed 
VI, among others.  During his conversation with the 
Ambassador, Benjelloun casually mentioned regular meetings 
with the Prime Minister, as well as having met with China's 
President Hu during his recent visit to Morocco.  Clearly 
comfortable in his role, Benjelloun would not hesitate to 
call senior managers on speaker phone, asking them to provide 
precise information on the spot, in response to the the 
Ambassador's questions. 
 
¶3.  (C) The Ambassador and Benjelloun discussed the growing 
economic role of China extensively.  Benjelloun noted that 
BMCE is the only Arab bank with a branch in Beijing.  He 
praised the "discipline" of the Chinese people saying "much 
could be learned" from them and discussed his recent meeting 
with Chinese President Hu.  He reminded the Ambassador that 
Morocco and China share a long-standing, close relationship 
and that China is showing increased interest in developing a 
presence in Africa.  Ambassador and econoff believe that 
Benjelloun clearly sees China as more of an opportunity than 
a threat; BMCE's strategy reflects that appraisal. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Benjelloun also praised Morocco's potential for 
offshoring and shared that GOM Prime Minister Driss Jettou is 
planning to announce a package of offshoring initiatives, 
including tax breaks, in the coming weeks.  Benjelloun 
claimed companies including Dell Computers and French-owned 
Cap Gemini are expected to make immediate investments, 
creating 3,200 and 2,700 jobs respectively.  Benjelloun was 
critical of SMEs complaining that they are often 
non-transparent and the money lent is often not invested in 
the business.  "We lend money to someone and the first thing 
they do is buy a car or an apartment," Benjelloun accused. 
He explained that BMCE has Dh 3.2 billion (about $350 
million) in SME loans currently in default.  "We want to 
lend," he explained, "That's what we do." 
 
¶5.  (C)  Turning to the pending AML law, Benjelloun was 
unimpressed.  "We are already compliant," he boasted, and 
claimed the law would have "no impact" on his business. 
 
"Other banks have to worry," he stated, and, surprisingly, 
even named BMCE rivals Banque Centrale Populaire and 
Attijariwafa (Morocco's largest bank), alleging both banks 
have had recent problems with money laundering, both in 
Morocco and in overseas offices. 
 
SOCIETE GENERALE 
 
¶6.  (C)  The modern, stylish residence of Mr. Abdelaziz Tazi, 
President and Chairman of Soci,t, Generale (SG) could easily 
have been found in the pages of Architectural Digest, 
complete with a private art collection and grand piano. 
Rather than meet at his office, Tazi invited the Ambassador 
to a sumptuous lunch at his home with two of SG's senior 
managers.  Tazi appeared relaxed and confident, and 
encouraged his managers to weigh in often on their areas of 
expertise, including presenting almost identical arguments on 
bank lending to SMEs as BMCE and BP. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Tazi echoed Benjelloun's attitude toward pending AML 
legislation.  As a French bank, he explained, SG is already 
complaint with EU banking laws, even at branches in non-EU 
countries.  "There are other banks that will have problems," 
one of his mangers explained, without naming any 
specifically.  Tazi did, however, express some practical 
concerns with the legislation itself.  He explained that if 
the provisions as currently written are strictly enforced, 
the bill could have negative impacts on many of the people 
who operate in Morocco's informal sector, including those not 
involved in terrorism or narcotics.  His managers added that 
determining the origin of money is the challenge for bank 
compliance with AML standards and that monitoring for 
suspicious transaction is the easier part. Tazi then 
broadened the discussion into a larger criticism of financial 
sector regulations, complaining that in general Moroccan 
financial rules are not precise enough and are open to too 
much interpretation. 
 
BANQUE CENTRALE POPULAIRE 
 
¶8.  (C)  The Ambassador next met with Noureddine Omary, 
President of Banque Centrale Populaire (BP).  With 
furnishings significantly more modest than BMCE ,s, Omary's 
office could easily pass for the that of a mid to senior 
level Moroccan government official (for example, the walls 
displayed framed official posters of King Mohammed VI and 
Hassan II as opposed to personal photographs).  The "off the 
rack" furnishings and lack of expensive art is perhaps not 
unexpected, as BP is still a partially (less than 20%) 
government-owned and controlled institution.  Omary, who 
began his career as a government official, appeared young. 
He sat on the edge of seat, speaking rapidly and asking few 
questions.  He also included a senior manager with him in the 
meeting, but never invited him to speak. 
 
¶9.  (C)  Omary's position on lending to SMEs was consistent 
with BMCE, and echoed the same difficulties with transparency 
on the part of small enterprises.  Interestingly, he even 
used the same turn of phrase as Benjelloun, remarking that 
"Lending is what we do, we want to lend more."  Ambassador 
and Omary also discussed BP's philanthropic efforts and 
Ambassador explained how they may correspond to projects 
under consideration by the GOM as part of its Millennium 
Challenge Account (MCA) proposal. 
 
¶10.   (C)  Omary's response to the Ambassador's inquiry on 
the pending AML bill was revealing.  He began by joking, 
awkwardly, about the need to "launder money," asking "is (the 
money) soiled?"  After this attempt at humor fell flat, Omary 
expressed his concerns that the law be "manageable" and that 
the regulations be clear detailing what his bank is expected 
to do.  "I need to sleep well at night," Omary complained, 
explaining he fears spending all his time worrying about 
ensuring compliance to the requirements of the new law. 
 
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COMMENT: 
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¶11.  (C) Comment:  While the Chairmen's responses to 
questions on SME lending are familiar and unsurprising, their 
differing responses when asked about AML legislation are much 
 
more revealing. BMCE ,s Benjelloun and Tazi of SG show no 
concern; more troubling is to know what exactly keeps BP 
Chairman Omary "up at night" and how many other bank Chairmen 
in Morocco share his sleeplessness. Concerns by influential 
persons or groups regarding AML legislation ,s potential 
negative impact on Morocco's large informal sector (estimated 
by the World Bank to represent almost 40% of the economy) 
could delay parliamentary consideration of the bill.  The GOM 
claims it wishes to absorb the informal sector (and its 
unreported, unsupervised financial transactions) into the 
formal economy, but many observers say, and Omary ,s reaction 
confirms, that there are players who will oppose this effort. 
GREENE