Morocco’s Bank of Africa plans to issue more than 5.1 million bonus shares to its shareholders through a capitalisation of reserves worth MAD51.2 million.
The Casablanca-based multinational banking conglomerate, led by billionaire industrialist Othman Benjelloun, will allocate the free equity units with a nominal value of MAD10 per share. The transaction allows the lender to expand its core equity capital base while providing direct equity rewards to current investors without requiring fresh cash injections.
According to transaction details outlined on Billionaires.Africa, the operation involves transferring retained earnings and statutory reserves directly into paid-up capital, reflecting management’s policy to reinforce prudential balance-sheet ratios.
The move follows formal approvals by the bank’s extraordinary general meeting and regulatory filings submitted to capital market authorities. Existing shareholders on record will receive the allotment proportionally to their holdings on the effective allotment date.
Bank of Africa ranks among the largest banking networks across the continent, maintaining an operating footprint spanning more than 20 countries in North, West, and East Africa.
Capital Retention Strategy Across Pan-African Operations
Incorporating reserves into equity provides African lenders with a flexible mechanism to satisfy regulatory capital adequacy benchmarks while conserving liquidity for loan book expansion. By substituting cash dividend payouts with scrip issues and bonus stock allotments, the bank retains valuable resources to support ongoing credit operations.
Information available on the Casablanca Stock Exchange indicates that institutional investors and domestic pension funds represent key constituents of the lender’s float, alongside Benjelloun’s holding vehicle O Capital Group.
Benjelloun, who built his business empire through finance, telecoms, and insurance, has overseen the bank’s international pivot for over two decades. The lender, previously operating as BMCE Bank before rebranding to Bank of Africa, has steadily integrated banking subsidiaries across sub-Saharan Africa through its holding operations headquartered in Dakar.
Rising interest rates in regional markets and currency adjustments have prompted commercial banks to build defensive balance sheets. Financial reporting on the Bank of Africa investor relations portal shows that the group has maintained steady deposit growth and higher consolidated banking income over recent quarters, despite rising provisions against sovereign debt exposure in select markets.
The issuance of 5,124,357 new shares will expand the total number of ordinary shares trading on the Casablanca bourse once the settlement process completes. Market analysts expect the transaction to enhance share liquidity by creating a wider distribution of tradable units across institutional and retail accounts.
The bank is expected to publish the final calendar for the distribution of rights and the technical admission of the new shares following clearance by Moroccan capital market regulators.
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