Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco's largest lender by assets, has appointed Rachid Kettani as Deputy Chief Executive Officer with responsibility for the Retail Banking Division covering Morocco and Europe, the bank announced on 7 September 2025 in a leadership transition that brings an experienced financial executive to the front line of the group's largest and most commercially significant business unit.
Kettani steps into the role from his position as the bank's Group Chief Financial Officer, where he accumulated deep knowledge of Attijariwafa's balance sheet, capital structure, and financial performance across its extensive pan-African and European operations. The appointment follows the retirement of Hassan Bertal, who had held the Deputy CEO position responsible for Morocco and Europe Retail Banking and was regarded as a key architect of the division's commercial strategy over his tenure with the group.
FROM FINANCE TO RETAIL LEADERSHIP
Kettani's move from the CFO role to a senior operational leadership position represents a significant expansion of his mandate and a shift in the nature of his accountabilities. As Group CFO, his primary responsibilities were oriented around financial reporting, capital management, investor relations, and regulatory compliance from a group-wide perspective. As Deputy CEO for Retail Banking, he will have direct accountability for the performance of branch networks, digital retail products, mortgage and consumer lending, and the full breadth of client relationships across Attijariwafa's retail division in Morocco and across its European operations.
The European dimension of the retail mandate is commercially material. Attijariwafa maintains a significant presence in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, serving the remittance, savings, insurance, and credit needs of the large and economically active Moroccan diaspora. Managing that network requires navigating multiple regulatory environments while maintaining a coherent customer proposition — a challenge that benefits from the kind of structured, analytically rigorous approach that Kettani's financial background is likely to bring.
Kettani's deep familiarity with the group's financial metrics positions him well to drive a performance-focused approach to retail banking leadership, setting clear profitability and efficiency targets and holding business line managers accountable against measurable outcomes. That discipline can be particularly valuable in a large retail banking franchise where cost management and revenue productivity are central to sustaining the strong returns that Attijariwafa has delivered to shareholders.
AN ORDERLY SUCCESSION AT THE SENIOR LEVEL
Hassan Bertal's departure through retirement rather than resignation or termination underlines the planned and orderly nature of the succession. Attijariwafa, which is controlled through Société Nationale d'Investissement and the Al Mada holding company, has historically managed senior leadership transitions in a measured and deliberate fashion, and the Kettani appointment is fully consistent with that governance culture and the bank's approach to succession planning at the executive level.
For the bank more broadly, securing an internally known and highly regarded candidate in Kettani provides continuity of strategic thinking and institutional knowledge at a level of the organisation that matters greatly to daily operations and client relationships. Morocco's banking market is navigating a period of economic adjustment and financial modernisation, and Attijariwafa's retail division will be expected to play a central role in extending credit and savings products to a growing consumer base whilst maintaining the asset quality standards that have underpinned the group's strong credit profile over successive economic cycles.