Morocco's BMCE Bank to raise $500 million in bond issue

Morocco's BMCE Bank is preparing to raise $500 million via a foreign bond issue to reinforce its financial resources, the bank said on Thursday.

The Morocco's second-private lender to issue what would be its first foreign bond after its general assembly on June 4 approves the move, it said. The issue would be denominated in either dollars or euros.

The Bank has been using income from its domestic market to expand in Africa over the past decade. It has subsidiaries in seven African states, plus branches in Europe catering to Moroccan expatriates.