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Mohamed El Kettani

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Mohamed El Kettani
NationalityMoroccan
EducationÉcole nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (ENSTA Paris)
OccupationBanker
CompanyAttijariwafa bank
TitleChairman and Chief Executive Officer, Attijariwafa bank

Mohamed El Kettani is a Moroccan banker who has been chairman and chief executive officer (président-directeur général) of Attijariwafa bank, Morocco's largest banking group, since 2007.[1] An engineer trained at the École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (ENSTA) in France, he spent his whole career with the bank and its predecessor, the Banque Commerciale du Maroc (BCM), which he joined in 1984.[1][2]

El Kettani was one of the people who planned the 2004 merger of BCM with Wafabank that created Attijariwafa bank. After the merger he ran the new bank's corporate, investment and international banking divisions.[1] The board co-opted him as a director on September 25, 2007, and he became chairman and chief executive later that year.[3]

Under El Kettani the bank expanded across Africa. It bought banks in Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Mauritania and Togo, then entered Egypt in 2017 by buying Barclays Bank Egypt.[4] In October 2026 it signed an agreement to take control of Société Générale Ghana.[5] Group net banking income rose from MAD 8.8 billion in 2007, his first year as chief executive, to MAD 34.9 billion in 2025. The workforce grew to 22,052 employees.[3][4]

As of November 2026, El Kettani chairs the board and four of its committees.[6] His honours include the French Legion of Honour (2015) and the rank of Commander in the National Order of Côte d'Ivoire (2019). In November 2025 the Africa Financial Summit named him "African Banker of the Year".[7][8][9]

Early life and education

El Kettani studied engineering in France and graduated from the École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (ENSTA).[1] The sources retrieved for this article do not give his date or place of birth, his family background or his school education. The board resolutions in the bank's 2007 annual report give his full name as Mohamed El Hamidi El Kettani.[3]

Career

Banque Commerciale du Maroc (1984 to 2004)

El Kettani joined the Banque Commerciale du Maroc in 1984.[2] In a 2019 interview he said he had started there "34 years ago at a time when our operations were mainly domestic, and the competition was relatively moderate".[2] According to MEED, he began as a specialist in financing capital projects. After almost a decade at BCM he was made deputy director in charge of all of the bank's lending.[1]

BCM merged with Wafabank in 2004 to form the present bank. MEED called El Kettani "one of the key architects" of the merger.[1] BCM had been founded in 1911 and Wafabank in 1904.[4]

Attijariwafa bank executive (2004 to 2007)

After the merger El Kettani ran the divisions that handled investment banking, large corporate clients and international business.[1] In those years the bank began expanding abroad. In 2005 it bought 53.54 percent of Banque du Sud in Tunisia jointly with Grupo Santander and renamed it Attijari bank Tunisie. In July 2006 it opened four branches in Dakar, Senegal, its first operation south of the Sahara.[4]

Chairman and chief executive (2007 to present)

Appointment and first years

On September 25, 2007, the board co-opted El Kettani as a director. The annual general meeting later ratified this for a six-year term.[3] He took office as chairman and chief executive in 2007.[1][10] The 2007 annual report lists him as head of an executive committee in which Omar Bounjou ran retail banking and Boubker Jaï ran financing, investment banking, capital markets and the financial subsidiaries.[3]

His first chairman's message, in the 2007 annual report, said the bank had "significantly outperformed" its 2005 business plan. It reported that the bank had opened 84 branches that year, adopted International Financial Reporting Standards a year before the central bank required it, and continued a new information systems programme. He also announced that the group had changed its organisational structure in December 2007, "without changing in any way its tried-and-tested system of governance". The aim, he wrote, was to encourage synergies between the bank's entities and improve risk management and internal control.[3]

African expansion

El Kettani's tenure is known mainly for the bank's expansion across Africa. In a December 2008 interview with Banque Stratégie, he said the bank had "une stratégie offensive sur le continent" (an offensive strategy on the continent) and was looking at targets in West and Central Africa. He said he hoped to have about ten subsidiaries in the region within two years.[11] The deals followed quickly. In November 2007 the bank bought 79.15 percent of the Compagnie Bancaire de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CBAO) in Senegal, and merged it with Attijari bank Sénégal in December 2008. In 2009 it bought 51 percent of the Banque Internationale pour le Mali (BIM) when the Malian bank was privatised, together with its main shareholder SNI. In December 2009 it completed purchases of 95 percent of Crédit du Sénégal, 58.7 percent of Union Gabonaise de Banque, 91 percent of Crédit du Congo and 51 percent of Société Ivoirienne de Banque.[4] The bank finalised its acquisition of SCB Cameroun in 2011 and took 80 percent of BNP Paribas Mauritanie. In 2013 it bought 55 percent of Banque Internationale pour l'Afrique au Togo.[4]

In a 2013 interview with Oxford Business Group, El Kettani explained the approach. He said a bank "must be strongly established in its home market" before expanding abroad. He also said that "when investing abroad, Moroccan banks do not come as conquerors, but as banks with a plan to develop banks acquired". He contrasted banking penetration of about 52 percent in Morocco with 5 to 8 percent in sub-Saharan countries. He said the group focused "more on growing the middle class and SMEs than on multinationals".[12]

El Kettani was part of the official delegation that went with King Mohammed VI to the Ivorian-Moroccan forum in Abidjan on February 24 to 26, 2014. In an interview there, he said the bank had passed critical size in Morocco, with market shares of 25 to 40 percent depending on the business line. That was why it had looked for growth abroad, and he said it had bought 12 banks in African countries over the previous six years. He said Société Ivoirienne de Banque, bought during Côte d'Ivoire's political crisis, had grown from 14 branches to 35.[13] In September 2015 the bank bought the Ivorian state's 39 percent stake in the bank, raising its holding to 90 percent. Of that, 12 percent was set aside for a stock-market listing and 3 percent for employees.[4]

In 2019 El Kettani said the strategy had produced the acquisition of 14 banks between 2005 and 2016. A "second phase" aimed at English-speaking Africa had begun with the purchase of Barclays Egypt.[2]

Egypt

The bank signed an agreement with Barclays on October 4, 2016 to buy its Egyptian subsidiary.[14] Speaking to Le360 that week, El Kettani said the difficult Egyptian economy had made it possible "to seize a good opportunity to buy a quality bank". He pointed to Egypt's population of about 90 million and to loans equal to 30 percent of gross domestic product, against 80 percent in Morocco. He said no other bank was then present in both Morocco or West and Central Africa and in Egypt. He gave the Egyptian bank's figures as total assets of MAD 22.4 billion, net banking income of MAD 1.7 billion and net profit of MAD 673 million. These made it equal, on a 2015 pro forma basis, to 5 percent of the group's consolidated assets and 13 percent of its net income group share.[15]

The acquisition of all of Barclays Bank Egypt was completed on May 3, 2017, and the Egyptian bank took the group's name.[4] At a press conference in Cairo, El Kettani said the group wanted to become one of Egypt's 10 largest banks within seven years. It also aimed to raise its market share from 1 to 1.5 percent to 5 percent within five years. He said the price was twice the bank's book value and seven times its expected profits for that year, and that the investment would pay back in five to seven years. According to Daily News Egypt, the Egyptian Exchange reported the share sale at US$494.997 million. El Kettani also said a listing of the Egyptian subsidiary was "an unlikely scenario".[14]

Later strategy and management changes

In 2011 El Kettani reported that the group had reached the goals of its "Attijariwafa 2012" strategic plan a year early. A four-year plan, "Attijariwafa 2015", followed, together with a capital increase that for the first time was open to staff of the international subsidiaries.[16] The 2011 report lists Omar Bounjou and Ismail Douiri as co-chief executives under him.[16] The "@mbitions 2025" plan was launched in 2021. The 2025 financial report says it met its three objectives: consolidating the bank's African position, building a digital and customer-focused bank, and meeting international standards in governance and social and environmental responsibility.[4]

In February 2020 the bank announced a major reorganisation, and director-general Boubker Jaï retired. Financial Afrik described this as a firm reassertion of control by El Kettani that stifled "toute velléité de dauphinat" (any ambition to be his heir apparent).[17] In September 2025 Rachid Kettani was promoted to deputy chief executive in charge of retail banking.[18] The 2025 financial report lists Rachid Kettani as deputy chief executive for Morocco from 2025.[4]

El Kettani's board mandate was due to expire at the 2026 annual general meeting, which approved the 2025 accounts.[4] He remained chairman and chief executive after it. He chaired the board meeting of July 27, 2026 that approved the first-half 2026 accounts.[19] He announced the Société Générale Ghana deal as chief executive on October 1, 2026.[5]

Leadership and management style

In 2019 El Kettani described his approach to leadership this way: "My personal belief is that leadership is a matter of attitude over the long run. I have always considered that the impossible can be achieved if we combine constant engagement, long term view, highly committed teams, and attention to details." He said the most rewarding and difficult part of his job was helping teams "being fully empowered" and turning staff into "internal entrepreneurs".[2]

His public comments often present the bank's growth as part of Moroccan state policy. He has said the African expansion follows the guidance of King Mohammed VI on South-South cooperation and African integration.[13][2] When he received his Ivorian decoration in 2019, he said the group's strategy was in line with the views of the King and of President Alassane Ouattara on "South-South cooperation and balanced and inclusive economic development".[8]

The integration of acquired banks follows a set pattern in his account. In 2013 he said that after an acquisition "the real work begins": adapting the management model, improving information systems and putting in place a development strategy.[12] In Egypt he described the same sequence. The brand would change, the information system would be rebuilt within a year, and an international consultancy chosen from McKinsey, Oliver Wyman and BCG would help draw up a five-year plan with Egyptian and Moroccan staff.[14] The bank's own Ghana announcement repeated the point. He said the group's "longue expérience réussie dans l'intégration des banques acquises" (long and successful experience of integrating acquired banks) would allow the Ghanaian bank to keep growing.[5]

He started a series of economic conferences at the bank. The first, on "the international financial crisis and emerging markets", was held in Casablanca on November 13, 2008.[11] The bank also runs an annual Africa Development Forum. He said its 2019 edition brought together more than 2,000 companies from 34 countries.[2]

Major deals and strategic decisions

  • CBAO, Senegal (2007 to 2008): bought 79.15 percent of CBAO in November 2007 and merged it with Attijari bank Sénégal in December 2008.[4]
  • Crédit Agricole agreement (2008 to 2009): at the end of November 2008 the bank and Crédit Agricole announced an agreement on their holdings in Morocco and Africa.[11] In December 2009 the group completed the purchase of stakes in Crédit du Sénégal, Union Gabonaise de Banque, Crédit du Congo and Société Ivoirienne de Banque.[4]
  • Banque Internationale pour le Mali (2008 to 2009): in his December 2008 interview, El Kettani said the bank had bought the Banque Internationale du Mali, Mali's second-largest bank, on November 6, 2008.[11] The group reports a 51 percent stake taken in 2009 at the bank's privatisation, rising to 66.3 percent in 2018.[4]
  • Cameroon, Mauritania and Togo (2011 to 2013): finalised SCB Cameroun and took 80 percent of BNP Paribas Mauritanie in 2011, then 55 percent of Banque Internationale pour l'Afrique au Togo in 2013.[4]
  • Société Ivoirienne de Banque stake increase (2015): bought the Ivorian state's 39 percent stake, taking the holding to 90 percent before an IPO allocation.[4]
  • Barclays Bank Egypt (2016 to 2017): agreement signed October 4, 2016 and completed May 3, 2017. To fund international growth, the bank and SNI became equal shareholders in the insurer Wafa Assurance as part of the arrangement.[14][4]
  • Green finance: the bank launched the African Energy Efficiency Fund (FAEE) with Econoler in September 2024.[20] Under El Kettani it also issued a US$500 million green bond for renewable energy projects.[9]
  • Société Générale Ghana (2026): on October 1, 2026 the bank announced an agreement under which Société Générale would sell 60.22 percent of its Ghanaian subsidiary, 55.22 percent to El Kettani's bank and 5 percent to Ghana's Social Security and National Insurance Trust. The deal requires regulatory approval in Morocco and Ghana. The Ghanaian bank has more than 500 staff and 40 branches. El Kettani said the deal fitted "pleinement dans notre stratégie de développement en Afrique" (fully within our development strategy in Africa).[5]

Financial and market performance

The group's annual reports show its growth during El Kettani's tenure:

Indicator 2007 2011 2025
Net banking income MAD 8.8 billion MAD 15.9 billion MAD 34.9 billion
Net income, group share MAD 2.5 billion MAD 4.5 billion MAD 10.6 billion
Return on equity 17.8 percent 21.2 percent 22.8 percent (return on tangible equity)

Sources: 2007 and 2011 annual reports; 2025 financial report.[3][16][4]

At the end of 2007, El Kettani's first year, the bank had total assets of MAD 211.9 billion, 4,723 employees in the bank itself, 624 branches in Morocco and 43 abroad. Its share price at year-end was MAD 3,080.[3] In December 2008 he told Banque Stratégie that the group had about 8,500 staff across the bank and its subsidiaries, more than 700 branches, and around 30 percent of the Moroccan commercial banking market.[11] In 2011 net banking income grew 8.3 percent and net income group share 8.7 percent.[16]

By the end of 2025 total assets had reached MAD 795.5 billion and shareholders' equity MAD 80.5 billion. Group net income was MAD 12.4 billion. The group employed 22,052 people and served more than 12 million customers through over 8,000 branches. Its market capitalisation on the Casablanca Stock Exchange was US$17 billion as of December 31, 2025. International retail banking provided 32.8 percent of net banking income. The largest shareholder was Al Mada, with 46.5 percent of the capital.[4] In December 2025 Fitch Ratings upgraded the bank's long-term rating to BB+.[4]

In the first half of 2026 net banking income rose 4 percent to MAD 18.4 billion and net income rose 2.3 percent to MAD 7.1 billion.[19] Financial Afrik, in a profile quoted by L'Economiste Maghrébin, reported average annual growth from 2005 to 2018 of 10.5 percent in total assets, 11.2 percent in net banking income and 9.7 percent in net income group share.[21]

Board memberships and outside roles

As of November 2026, El Kettani chairs the bank's strategic committee, high credits committee and ESG committee, and sits on its governance, appointment and remuneration committee.[6] The 2025 financial report lists his other mandates as of December 31, 2024. Within the group, he chaired the boards of Attijariwafa bank Europe, Attijari Africa Holding, Omnium de Gestion Marocain and BCM Corporation, and was a director or supervisory board member of Attijari bank Tunisie, CBAO, Société Ivoirienne de Banque, Société Camerounaise de Banque, Wafacash, Wafa Immobilier, Bank Assafa and Wafa Gestion. He was also a non-executive director of Attijariwafa bank Egypt.[4]

Outside the group, the same list shows him as a director of the insurer Wafa Assurance, of the investment holding Al Mada (as the bank's representative) and of the pension fund CIMR. He was a supervisory board member of OPTORG, a director of Al Akhawayn University and of the Fondation Mohammed V pour la Solidarité, and executive vice-president of the Moroccan banking association GPBM. He chaired the Fondation Attijariwafa bank and the Fondation Actua.[4]

In 2012 he co-chaired the Morocco-France business leaders' club (Club des chefs d'entreprise Maroc/France). Before a meeting that brought about 200 French executives to Morocco, he organised eight working groups of 70 business leaders from both countries.[22]

Controversies

No regulatory finding against El Kettani personally was found. Subsidiaries of the group he leads have been sanctioned. In July 2015 Cameroon's financial markets commission (CMF) fined the Cameroonian subsidiary SCB Cameroun 150 million CFA francs over its role in a 2013 state bond issue. The commission also suspended it from the national bond market for six months and ordered it to repay 473 million CFA francs in commissions to the Cameroonian state. The regulator issued warnings to SCB's director-general and deputy director-general. According to Financial Afrik, the bank challenged the sanction in court, and in September 2015 an administrative judge in Douala suspended its enforcement.[23]

In December 2020 the sanctions commission of France's Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) reprimanded and fined the group's European subsidiary, which El Kettani chairs, €500,000 for weaknesses in its anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. The failings had first been identified in a 2012 inspection. According to Bladi.net, the commission found that three people were responsible for periodic control of 61 branches at the end of 2017.[24]

Recognition

  • 2011: Economic Leadership Trophy at the first Public Diplomacy Awards, organised by the Moroccan international relations magazine Diplomatica (November 2011)[16][13]
  • 2015: Legion of Honour, presented at the French embassy in Rabat on April 12, 2015 by the French minister of the economy and finance[7] (Forbes Middle East gives his rank as officer)[25]
  • 2019: African CEO of the Year at the seventh Africa CEO Forum, according to Capital Markets in Africa[2]
  • 2019: Commander of the National Order of Côte d'Ivoire, presented in Abidjan on July 22, 2019 by Grand Chancellor Henriette Dagri Diabaté[8][10]
  • 2020: named among the "bankers of the year" in Financial Afrik's list of 100 leaders transforming Africa[21]
  • 2021: ranked 48th in Forbes Middle East's Top CEOs in the Middle East. The listing also names him an officer of Morocco's Order of the Throne[25]
  • 2025: Forbes Middle East Sustainability Leaders list, ranked 11th in the banking sector[20]
  • 2025: "African Banker of the Year" at the AFIS Awards, Casablanca, November 4, 2025[9][26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Mohamed el-Kettani". MEED. October 30, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Exclusive Interview: Mohamed El Kettani, Chairman and CEO of Attijariwafa Bank Morocco". Capital Markets in Africa. June 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Annual Report 2007". Attijariwafa bank. 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 "Financial Report 2025". Attijariwafa bank. 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Communiqué de presse: Attijariwafa bank annonce un accord relatif à l'acquisition d'une participation majoritaire dans le capital de Société Générale Ghana". Attijariwafa bank. October 1, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Management and Board". Attijariwafa bank Investor Relations. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Distinction: Légion d'honneur pour Mohamed El Kettani, PDG d'Attijariwafa bank". April 6, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Mr. Mohamed EL KETTANI, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Attijariwafa bank group, promoted to the rank of Commander of the National Order of Côte d'Ivoire". Attijariwafa bank. July 22, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Modeste Kouamé."Mohamed El Kettani, sacré banquier africain 2025: la durabilité et l'ancrage africain récompensés". November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Grande chancellerie: Le PDG du groupe Attijariwafa bank élevé au grade de commandeur de l'Ordre National de Côte d'Ivoire". July 22, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "La surveillance au cœur du dispositif anti-crise: interview de Mohammed El Kettani". Banque Stratégie. Revue Banque. pp. 29. December 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "OBG talks to Mohamed El Kettani, CEO, Attijariwafa Bank". The Report: Morocco 2013. Oxford Business Group. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Interview / Mohamed El Kettani, PDG du Groupe Attijariwafa Bank-SIB: "La visite du Roi Mohammed VI a profité à l'économie ivoirienne"". March 4, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Hossam Mounir."Attijariwafa Bank aims to become one of Egypt's 10 biggest banks in 7 years". May 13, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ Younès Tantaoui."Interview. Mohamed Kettani: "Barclays Egypt sera l'un des principaux contributeurs aux résultats du Groupe"". October 6, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 "Annual Report 2011". Attijariwafa bank. 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  17. ↑ Adama Wade."Attijariwafa bank: analyse d'une reprise en main musclée". February 25, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  18. ↑ "New governance at Attijariwafa bank: Rachid Kettani promoted to Deputy CEO". September 6, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Attijariwafa bank: H1 2026 Press release". Attijariwafa bank. July 27, 2026. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Moroccan banker recognized among Forbes sustainability leaders". September 18, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Mohamed El Kettani parmi les banquiers de l'année en Afrique". December 26, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  22. ↑ ""Les opérateurs français ont pris la pleine mesure des réformes engagées par le Maroc"". March 30, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Banque: les dirigeants de la SCB Cameroun sous forte pression". September 25, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Attijariwafa Bank's European Subsidiary Fined €500,000 for Anti-Money Laundering Failures". January 29, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Mohamed El Kettani: Top CEOs In The Middle East". Forbes Middle East. March 7, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
  26. ↑ Noura Mounib."Attijariwafa bank: Mohamed El Kettani sacré "African Banker of the Year" aux AFIS Awards 2025". November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2026.
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