Small businesses in Morocco are paying more to borrow money from banks than large companies, while the amount of cash circulating in the economy has climbed to a record-like level of more than MAD 532 billion.
The figures, released by Bank Al-Maghrib, show that smaller businesses faced an average interest rate of 5.20% on their bank loans during the second quarter of 2026. Large companies, meanwhile, paid an average of 4.56%.
The gap matters because small and medium-sized businesses often depend on bank loans to buy equipment, pay workers and suppliers, or expand their operations. Higher borrowing costs can make those plans more expensive.
Across businesses of all sizes, the average interest rate on bank loans was 4.71%. Loans for equipment averaged 4.65%, while short-term loans used to cover day-to-day cash needs averaged 4.62%. Loans for property development were more expensive, at 5.35%.
At the same time, Moroccans are holding and using more physical cash. The amount of banknotes and coins circulating in the economy reached MAD 532.6 billion at the end of June, an increase of 18.4% from a year earlier.
The increase in cash was faster than the growth of the country’s overall money supply. The broader measure rose by 11.7% over the same period, reaching about MAD 2.185 trillion.
The figures suggest that cash remains a major part of everyday economic activity, even as Morocco expands online banking, card payments and other electronic ways of paying.
Money kept in ordinary bank accounts also grew by 11.7% over the year. But money held in fixed-term deposits fell by 5.5%, meaning people and businesses had less money locked away in these types of accounts.
Bank lending overall was also growing. Loans to businesses, public institutions and households increased by 9.9% over the year to reach about MAD 1.06 trillion.
Private businesses received MAD 493.7 billion of that amount, while households had MAD 402 billion in loans and public institutions had MAD 90.8 billion.
But the growth was not evenly spread. Loans to public institutions jumped 16.9%, while lending to private businesses rose 8.2%. Household borrowing grew much more slowly, by 3.4%.
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