Banking Mediation in Morocco: How It Works and Your Options

What is the CMMB?#

The Moroccan Centre for Banking Mediation is a non-profit association, constituted at a general meeting in June 2013, which began operating in June 2014. Its members include Bank Al-Maghrib, the Moroccan Banking Association (GPBM), the Professional Association of Finance Companies (APSF), Maroc PME and the microcredit federation. Its framework is set by Bank Al-Maghrib Circular No. 9/W/16 of 10 June 2016 on the banking mediation scheme.

The CMMB practises institutional mediation within the meaning of Law No. 95-17 on arbitration and conventional mediation: an agreement reached has, between the parties, the force of res judicata.

Who can refer a case to the mediator, and on what conditions#

The mediation rules, in the version adopted on 23 March 2023, open mediation to occasional or regular customers of:

• banks;
• finance companies;
• microcredit associations;
• payment institutions;
• offshore banks.

The precondition (Article 5 of the rules): the customer must first have sent a complaint to the institution. They can refer the matter to the CMMB if they have not received a reply within 40 working days, or if the reply does not satisfy them. Disputes already decided by a court or an arbitrator are excluded. Mediation is free for the customer.

The full route has three stages: the institution, then the CMMB, then Bank Al-Maghrib as a last resort. See banking complaints and Bank Al-Maghrib's figures.

Procedural timescales#

The thresholds below which the proposal binds the institution#

Article 10 of the rules sets thresholds by type of institution. Below the threshold, if the customer accepts the mediator's proposal, notification of that acceptance to the institution counts as acceptance by the institution. The customer always remains free to refuse.

Above these amounts, the proposal binds the institution only if it accepts it. The figure of 100,000 MAD sometimes quoted for the whole sector applies only to finance companies.

CMMB activity in 2024#

Source: CMMB, 2024 activity report.

Banks account for 84.7% of cases, and 89% of applicants are individuals. The main subjects are means of payment (21.2%), debt repayment (16.3%) and account closure (15.3%). No 2025 activity report had been published at the date this page was verified; different growth rates are circulating in the press, without official confirmation.

What this means for a bank's complaints strategy#

Every case taken to the CMMB is a complaint the bank failed to resolve. With an agreement rate of around one in two and high binding thresholds, mediation has a direct cost (the redress granted) and an indirect cost (staff time, reputation, a signal to the supervisor). Four consequences follow:

1. Treat the mediator referral rate as a risk indicator, tracked by reason and by branch, and presented to the customer relations committee.
2. Analyse the agreements reached in mediation: if the mediator regularly proposes redress on a given reason, the internal position is not sustainable. Our guide to fixing causes describes the method.
3. Review response delegations so that branches and the central unit can grant internally what the mediator would grant, below the applicable threshold.
4. Inform customers clearly of the option of mediation, as Circular No. 10/W/16 requires: a customer who is informed and well treated internally has fewer reasons to go further.

The dominant reasons (means of payment, account closure) overlap with those revealed by behavioural signals: payment incidents and departures.

Mediation readiness checklist#

• Mention of mediation and the CMMB's contact details in complaint replies.
• Cases forwarded by the CMMB identified in the tracking tool.
• A designated contact to respond to the mediator on time.
• Quarterly review of proposals and agreements, by reason.
• Internal delegations aligned with the applicable thresholds.
• Data exchanged with the mediator limited to what is necessary: see data protection in banking.