BOAA Bank Africa (a)

TIDMBOAA

RNS Number : 7965T

Bank of Africa

29 March 2021

ir-bankofafrica.ma

BANK OF AFRICA

BMCE GROUP

ANNUAL RESULTS

31 DECEMBER 2020

2020 PERFORMANCE RESILIENT DESPITE THE GLOBAL HEALTH PANDEMIC

Bank Of Africa -BMCE Group's Board of Directors, chaired by Mr Othman BENJELLOUN, met Friday 26 March 2021 at the Bank's head office in Casablanca. It reviewed the business activity of the Bank and of the Group for the financial year ended 31 December 2020 and drew up the financial statements for the period in question.

The Board of Directors shall propose to the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders the appointment of two independent Directors, Mr Mohamed Kabbaj and Mrs Nezha Lahrichi, in addition to Mrs Myriam Bouazzaoui, a Director from the BANK OF AFRICA Group. At the same time, the Annual General Meeting shall also acknowledge the resignation of two foreign independent Directors, Mr Philipe De Fontaine Vive and Mr Christian De Boissieu, to whom a warm and sincere tribute was paid by the Chairman of the Board of Directors and all the Directors.

The brochure containing the 2020 financial statements, prepared under IAS/IFRS, and the notes to the financial statements, are published on the website www.ir-bankofafrica.ma .

CONSOLIDATED BUSINESS ACTIVITY

(MAD MILLIONS)

NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREHOLDERS OF THE PARENT COMPANY

   December 2019                      1 922 

December 2020

   Excluding donation     -29%    1 368 
   Including donation      -62%    738 

Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company fell by 62% to MAD 738 million; excluding the impact from the donation, net income fell by 29%.

NET BANKING INCOME

   December 2019                      13 860 

+1%

   December 2020                      14 002 

Business activity resilient with consolidated net banking income up by a modest 1% to MAD 14 billion at 31 December 2020, driven by 5% growth in net interest income and a 3% rise in income from market operations.

LOANS

   December 2019                      186 646 

+4%

   December 2020                      194 167 

Strong commercial performance with 4% growth in outstanding consolidated loans to MAD 194.2 billion versus MAD 186.6 billion at 31 December 2019.

DEPOSITS

   December 2019                      202 817 

+2%

   December 2020                      207 087 

Consolidated customer deposits also performing strongly, registering growth of 2% to MAD 207.1 billion 2% at 31 December 2020 versus MAD 202.8 billion at 31 December 2019.

PARENT BUSINESS ACTIVITY

(MAD MILLIONS)

NET INCOME

   December 2019                      1 372 

December 2020

   Excluding donation       -1%    1 354 
   Including donation      -47%    724 

Net income down by 47% after factoring in the impact from the donation to the COVID-19 special fund but down by only 1% excluding the donation.

NET BANKING INCOME

   December 2019                      6 477 

-3%

   December 2020                      6 301 

Net banking income at BANK OF AFRICA S.A. down 3% to MAD 6.3 billion at 31 December 2020 despite a 4% rise in net interest income.

LOANS

   December 2019                      111 656 

+4%

   December 2020                      116 542 

4.4% increase in loans from Banking in Morocco to MAD 117 billion.

DEPOSITS

   December 2019                      128 486 

+0.2%

   December 2020                      128 757 

The Bank's customer deposits broadly unchanged (+0.2%) at MAD 129 billion at 31 December 2020.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IMPACTED BY THE GLOBAL HEALTH PANDEMIC

Business activity resilient with consolidated net banking income up by a modest 1% to MAD 14 billion at 31 December 2020, driven by 5% growth in net interest income and a 3% rise in income from market operations.

Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company down by 62% to MAD 738 million and the Bank's net income down by 47% to MAD 724 million due to a combination of (i) a MAD 1 billion overall contribution to the COVID-19 special fund (ii) a 57% increase in the consolidated cost of risk to MAD 3.5 billion at 31 December 2020 and a 67% rise in the cost of risk at parent level to MAD 1.5 billion at 31 December 2020 and (iii) weaker performance from a number of the Group's businesses due the somewhat challenging domestic and international operating environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ongoing pursuit of operational efficiency by the Bank, driven by a strategy aimed at digitally transforming its business processes and making further cost savings. As a result, general operating expenses were held in check, down 6% at parent level, resulting in a cost-to-income ratio of 54.5% at 31 December 2020 versus 56.3% at 31 December 2019, an improvement of 1.8 percentage points.

On a consolidated basis, the cost base was impacted by the contribution to the COVID-19 special fund; excluding this donation, the Group's general operating expenses fell by 3%.

Consolidated gross operating income, excluding the donation, up 7% to MAD 6,202 million at 31 December 2020.

Strong commercial performance with 4% growth in outstanding consolidated loans to MAD 194.2 billion at 31 December 2019, driven by a 4.4% increase in loans from Banking in Morocco to MAD 117 billion.

BANK OF AFRICA saw its share of the loan market improve by 20 basis points from 12.28% at 31 December 2019 to 12.48% at 31 December 2020.

Consolidated customer deposits also performing strongly, up 2% to MAD 207.1 billion at 31 December 2020 versus MAD 202.8 billion at 31 December 2019; at parent level, customer deposits broadly unchanged (+0.2%) at MAD 129 billion at 31 December 2020.

STRONGLY COMMITTED AND FULLY MOBILISED IN SUPPORT OF THE ECONOMY

Under Chairman Othman Benjelloun's leadership, BANK OF AFRICA made a MAD 1 billion contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic management fund established by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, an initiative which reflects the Group's strong commitment to the national cause during this period.

A series of measures adopted aimed at supporting the domestic economy and helping to protect jobs, supporting businesses and households encountering difficulties since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Assistance and support for nearly 13,000 Moroccan small businesses in the form of more than MAD 14 billion of funding since the beginning of 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

Medium and long-term loan maturities extended and new products - Crédit Relance, Damane Oxygène and Crédit Entrepreneurs Covid-19 - launched

Partnership agreement signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for a EUR 145 million finance facility, the first of its kind in the forty or so countries in which this multilateral financial institution has operations, available within the framework of the EBRD's 'resilience framework', in response to the global health crisis.

INITIATIVES PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INVESTMENT

Renewed commitment from the Entrepreneurship Observatory, an integrated ecosystem of around sixty public and private sector partners, to support entrepreneurs by providing specialised non-financial services.

A series of high-impact value-generating measures introduced, including a website providing a wealth of financial and non-financial information, bespoke and diploma-based training courses with partner universities, as well as non-financial services through mentoring modules and networking programmes.

Agreements signed with local authorities, calls for expression of interest initiated in support of small businesses and cooperatives and the Blue Space incubator network rolled-out.

DIGITAL BANKING ENHANCED

Digital banking development accelerated by (i) improving customer experience across all distribution channels whilst developing new income sources, (ii) BANK OF AFRICA underlining its growing reputation as a leading player in digital banking and innovation, (iii) digitising front-to-back business processes aimed at improving operational efficiency.

New scalable remote banking services rolled out aimed at enhancing and offering new functionality. Practical and secure remote banking solutions enabling customers to carry out their banking transactions quickly and easily with a number of transactions free of charge.

Crédit Habitat online portal launched - www.credithabitat.ma. - an online mortgage subscription platform:

1(st) bank to provide customer service via WhatsApp, a new mode of customer interaction, making it easier to access information and provide an instant response to customer requests.

Improved customer experience in the latest version of BMCE Direct , offering a more user-friendly approach and additional services.

BK Financial Bot launched by BMCE Capital, the first specialised investment banking chatbot in the sector.

Subscription-free access to all BMCE Capital's digital platforms to encourage use of digital channels.

Two remote banking services launched by BTI Bank, BTI Connect for retail banking customers and BTI Business Connect for businesses, enabling customers to carry out their most frequent transactions remotely.

NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREHOLDERS OF THE PARENT COMPANY

AT 31 DECEMBER 2020 BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION

(EXCLUDING DONATION)

MOROCCO -- 47%

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA -- 44%

EUROPE -- 9%

A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BANK

Heavily committed to protecting the environment and to social responsibility. A commitment lasting more than 25 years via BMCE Bank Foundation, which continues to innovate and multiply the number of programmes it runs, promoting education and the environment and supporting African start-ups.

Dr Leïla Mezian-Benjelloun awarded the Officer medal of France's Légion d'honneur and ICESCO's African-ness Award, as well as being appointed Honorary President of Teach for Morocco, an NGO.

A new Medersat.com school opened in Ketama, Al Hoceima Province and a new school built in Djibouti.

Agreement signed between BMCE Bank Foundation and the Confucius Institute of Tangier, enabling the Medersat.com school in Bougdour to benefit from Mandarin Chinese teaching.

Partnership agreements entered into between BMCE Bank Foundation and the Paris Education Authority and the French Institute of Morocco aimed at (i) enhancing the quality of teaching across the Medersat.com network, (ii) supporting the training of supervisors, (iii) improving the French language skills of teachers in BMCE Bank Foundation schools, and (iv) promoting staff enrolment in distance learning training courses.

Leadership status in sustainable development, as illustrated by the Bank signing and adhering to flagship international undertakings, by a CSR policy overseen by the Bank's senior management, and by formally adopting ethical and environmental undertakings in a CSR Charter, which steers the Group's sustainable growth model and its practices.

Partnership agreement signed with International Finance Corporation aimed at bolstering the Group's climate finance capabilities.

Climate change aspect incorporated within the Group's Risk Policy.

ISO 14001 certification for environmental management successfully renewed and OHSAS 18001 certification for occupational health and safety risk management maintained.

COVID-19 prevention Safeguard label awarded by Veritas Group.

A new 'Green Value Chain' agreement signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) regarding a EUR 10 million sustainable financing line aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises and at promoting investment in Morocco's green economy.

AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS

BANK OF AFRICA named 'Best Bank in Morocco 2021' by Global Finance, a prestigious American magazine.

Wins the 'Best Customer Service Award Morocco 2021' in the Banking category for the fourth consecutive year, reflecting the strong commitment by each of the Bank's businesses to its existing and prospective customers and to improving the quality of the service provided.

BANK OF AFRICA named in the top 2% of all global companies rated by Vigeo Eiris (4,880 in total) and 1(st) out of 90 in the banking sector - 'Retail & Specialised Banks - Emerging Markets' category - following the first corporate sustainability rating to be undertaken in Morocco, thereby underlining its leadership status in CSR.

BANK OF AFRICA named 'Top Performer CSR' in 2020 for the 7(th) consecutive year by Vigeo Eiris, topping the 'Retail & Specialised Banks - Emerging Markets' rankings in the 6 domains of environmental and social performance and governance.

BMCE Capital Conseil an award-winner in the 'Single Deal Local Advisor' category of the 'Private Equity Africa 2020 Awards', earning recognition for its support for one of Morocco's leading private healthcare providers in a flagship transaction, thereby underlining its reputation as a leading financial advisor to companies and institutions for their strategic deals.

Eurafric Information, BANK OF AFRICA Group's IT subsidiary, named 'Top Employer' for the 2(nd) consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute, a prestigious international organisation, in recognition of its ongoing efforts to develop a robust, consistent and employee-focused human resources strategy, thereby underlining its reputation as a highly attractive employer.

RATINGS

   MOODY'S                    BA1, NEGATIVE OUTLOOK 
   Fitch Ratings               BB, STABLE OUTLOOK 
   V.E                               A1+, Extra-Financial Rating 

PROFILE

15 000+ EMPLOYEES

1 800+ POINTS OF SALE

32 COUNTRIES

6+ MILLION CUSTOMERS

BANK OF AFRICA is one of Africa's main pan-African financial groups. With an extensive portfolio of brands and subsidiaries, BANK OF AFRICA has adopted a universal banking business model comprising a variety of business lines, including commercial banking, investment banking as well as specialised financial services such as leasing, factoring, consumer credit and participatory banking.

FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION Website: ir-bankofafrica.ma - Tel: +212 522 462 806

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March 29, 2021 05:50 ET (09:50 GMT)