Casablanca-The Moroccan banking system has witnessed a historic surge in liquidity demands, reaching a staggering 100 billion dirhams (approximately $10.31 billion USD) by the end of November 2023. This surge is attributed to the sustained increase in cash circulation, as reported by Attijari Global Research (AGR).

According to AGR’s latest “Weekly Hebdo Taux- Fixed Income” bulletin covering the period from December 29 to January 4, currency circulation soared to 388.6 billion dirhams (approximately $40.06 billion USD), marking an all-time high.

In response to this heightened demand, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) has taken measures to address the needs of the banking system. BAM reduced the outstanding balance of its interventions through main and long-term operations (LT) to 122.5 billion dirhams (approximately $12.63 billion USD), down from 129.6 billion dirhams (approximately $13.37 billion USD) the previous week.

Additionally, 7-day advances experienced a notable decline of 7.1 billion dirhams (approximately $732.99 million USD), decreasing from 60.1 billion dirhams (approximately $6.19 billion USD) to 53.0 billion dirhams (approximately $5.46 billion USD) within a week. Despite this reduction, BAM maintained its LT injections at 69.5 billion dirhams (approximately $7.16 billion USD) through repurchase agreements and secured loans.

The money market remained balanced throughout the week, with an average weighted rate consistent with the policy rate at 3%. Conversely, MONIA rates increased by 4 basis points compared to the previous week, reaching 2.99%.

In the realm of Treasury placements, the outstanding amount with repo and outright transactions witnessed a significant decrease. The average outstanding amount plummeted to 12 billion dirhams (approximately $1.24 billion USD) this week, down by 2.5 billion dirhams (approximately $257.49 million USD) from the previous week.