ALGIERS- More than 594 billion dinars (DA) have been collected by Algerian banks, as of December 31, 2022, within the framework of Islamic finance, indicated on Monday the president of the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (Abef ), Lazhar latreche.
“Islamic finance deposits at the level of banks in the Algerian market have reached 594 billion DA since the launch of this type of financing, until December 31, 2022”, declared Mr. Latreche who spoke on the airwaves of Channel III of Algerian Radio.
The president of the Abef also noted a clear improvement in deposits collected by conventional finance thanks to the increase in the rates offered by the banks for significant maturities (60 months and more).
Thus, the adoption of Islamic finance and the improvement in interest rates contributed significantly to the increase in the overall level of deposits.
Regarding loans granted by all Algerian banks as of December 31, 2022, Mr. Latreche said that their volume increased by 8.75% compared to 2021, explaining this increase by the impact of the recovery economic.
“Investment in Algeria in the various sectors of activity is evolving towards the positive”, he said, stressing, in this sense, that the orientation given was to “prioritize the financing of the national economy in its investment aspect”.
Regarding the improvement of bank service, the President of the Abef reported a marked improvement, noting that in 2022, the number of bank branches will be around 1,700 branches, i.e. a positive evolution of 2, 3% compared to the year 2021.
He added in the same context that credit files are processed within a period not exceeding 20 days while major investment files are processed within an average of 30 days.
Regarding achievements in the digitalization of the banking system, Mr. Latreche said that more than 3,640 ATMs (ATMs) have been installed to date.
In addition, 37,000 electronic payment terminals (TPE) have been put into service to date, with an increase of 23% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the same official.
Payment by TPE experienced in 2022 an increase of 27.99%, with more than 2.7 million transactions for an amount of 19 billion dollars, he indicated, adding that payment on the net experienced more than 9 million transactions in 2022, an increase of 62% compared to 2021.
He added that more than 13.5 million bank cards (CIB and Dahabia) are in circulation as of December 31, 2022, an increase of 17% compared to 2021.
The president of the Abef recalled that a meeting, chaired by the Minister of Finance, Laaziz Faid, took place yesterday Sunday and had brought together all the leaders of the public banks.
During this meeting, he said, “firm instructions were given to public banks to improve the quality of service, speed in the processing of banking operations and the modernization and digitization of financial operations. to allow all customers to benefit from a quality service and within the deadlines that meet their expectations”.
Among the instructions given during this meeting, the generalization of TPE at the level of traders, according to Mr. Latreche specifying that “each bank is required to install at least between 3000 and 4000 TPE with its customers”.
Regarding the role of banks in supporting the non-hydrocarbon export policy, he recalled that two Algerian banks are being created in Senegal and Mauritania, to which is added the “BEA international” project, in France.
According to him, “the effective opening of these banks will take place during the current year, once the approvals have been obtained”.
Regarding the credits not recovered by the Algerian banks, Mr. Latreche pointed out that the latter “had inherited a management situation”, noting that “they are now in the process of cleaning up their situation to start on a good basis”.
Asked regarding the consumer credits granted for the acquisition of future locally produced vehicles, Mr. Latreche assured that the rate charged will be “attractive”.
