The insurance sector continued to show solid fundamentals and demonstrate its resilience despite the difficult international economic situation marked by great uncertainties, according to the Committee for Coordination and Surveillance of Systemic Risks (CCSRS), meeting Thursday at the headquarters of Bank Al- Maghreb (BAM).
On a technical level, the sector maintained at the end of the first three quarters of this year a good growth rate of around 7.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, to reach 42.4 billion of dirhams (MMDH), indicates BAM in a press release on this 16th meeting of the CCSRS, noting that this evolution was supported by both the life branch (+9.5%) and the non-life branch (+6.1%). ).
On the financial level, investments by insurance companies have increased by 3% since the beginning of the year to stand at 216.7 billion dirhams at the end of September. However, unrealized capital gains fell by 40.6% to stand at 19.3 billion dirhams, due in particular to the fall in the stock market and the rise in secondary market rates.
In terms of profitability, the net result recorded an improvement of around 11.3% year-on-year at the end of June. Regarding solvency, the sector continues to generate an average margin of more than three times the regulatory minimum required.
Regarding the pension sector, the same source points out that the main basic schemes are experiencing “a difficult financial situation” marked globally by “the importance of their implicit debts and by the depletion of their reserves at various horizons”.
The systemic pension reform should make it possible to establish a balanced pricing, but also to absorb, in significant proportions, the uncovered past commitments, and therefore to restore financial balances in the future, notes the press release.
Following the examination of the situation of the financial system with regard to the economic and financial trends, observed and expected, the CCSRS pointed out, moreover, that the evolution of the macroeconomic conditions does not show up to now any “major risks” that could threaten financial stability, but the vulnerabilities arising from the external and internal environment (repercussions of the war in Ukraine, drought, consequences of the pandemic, inflationary pressures, etc.) “call for vigilance and continue to make the ‘subject to close surveillance’.
According to Bank Al-Maghrib projections, the growth of the national economy should slow to 1.1% in 2022 before accelerating to 3% in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024, recalls the same source.
As for inflation and after a sharp acceleration in 2022 to 6.6%, it should ease while remaining at a high level around 4% on average in 2023 and 2024.
Regarding the external position, the current account deficit should narrow to around 2% over the next two years, while official reserve assets should stand at 362.9 billion in 2023 then at 371 billion in 2024, i.e. equivalent of nearly 6 months of imports of goods and services.
With regard to public finances, the budget deficit would gradually decrease from 5.3% of GDP in 2022 to 4.6% in 2023 and 4% in 2024. The Treasury debt, for its part, would decrease to 67.7% of GDP in 2023 and 66.1% in 2024.
SB