Bank Al-Maghrib: Slight Decrease in Liquidity Needs and Decline in Interest Rates in March 2025
Bank Al-Maghrib has announced a slight decrease in banks’ liquidity needs during March 2025, averaging around MAD 131.2 billion on a weekly basis.
The central bank, in its monthly report on the economic, monetary, and financial environment, indicated that it injected a total of MAD 146.8 billion, distributed between MAD 65.1 billion in the form of 7-day advances, MAD 48.4 billion through repurchase operations over one and three months, along with MAD 33.4 billion allocated for refinancing via long-term secured loans.
In the interbank market, the daily average of transactions reached MAD 3.1 billion, while the weighted average rate stabilized at 2.4%, following Bank Al-Maghrib’s decision during its meeting held on March 18, 2025, to reduce the key interest rate by 25 basis points to settle at 2.25%.
Treasury bond rates experienced slight declines in both the primary and secondary markets during March, while interest rates on deposits rose in February by 35 basis points to reach 2.58% for 6-month deposits and by 13 basis points to reach 2.8% for 1-year deposits.
Regarding loan interest rates, a study by Bank Al-Maghrib covering the fourth quarter of 2024 showed a 13 basis points decline in the overall rate to 5.08%.
By borrower type, interest rates on loans extended to companies decreased by 12 basis points to 5%, including a decline of 50 basis points in real estate recovery loans (5.18%), 26 basis points in equipment loans (4.98%), and 7 basis points in treasury facilities (approximately 5%).
Interest rates on loans directed to very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also recorded consecutive declines of 6 and 4 basis points, reaching 5.08% and 5.7%, respectively.
In terms of household loans, the average interest rate decreased by 12 basis points to 5.79%, supported by a drop in consumer loans by 7 basis points to 6.99%, while the rate for housing loans remained stable at 4.75%.
