For wealthy families, passing a business on to the next generation can be as difficult as building it. Saham Bank has launched a new division to help them manage their wealth, plan business succession and transfer assets to their heirs. The Private Banking & Family Office division targets high-net-worth individuals and family-owned businesses. Its French tagline, “Bâtisseurs. Transmetteurs. À chaque ambition, son accélération”, translates as “Builders. Transmitters. To every ambition, its acceleration”.
The new division aims to address a growing challenge for family businesses: transferring ownership and control from founders to their children and grandchildren. Many companies established in the 1960s and 1970s are now facing this transition.
The services go beyond managing investments. They are intended to help families plan business succession, organise their assets, address tax matters and establish rules for managing family companies.
Recent wealth reports estimate that the country has more than 6,000 high-net-worth individuals, defined as people with more than $1m in investable assets. Much of the wealth held by some families is tied up in commercial and industrial property, which can make it harder to divide or transfer assets.
Based on Boulevard Abdelmoumen in Casablanca, Saham Bank has a declared share capital of 2.15bn Moroccan dirhams (MAD).
The launch follows Saham Group’s acquisition of Société Générale Marocaine de Banques (SGMB), which led to the bank being rebranded as Saham Bank.
In April 2024, Saham Group agreed to buy the French bank Société Générale’s 57.67% stake in SGMB, along with its life insurance subsidiary, La Marocaine Vie. The deal was valued at €745m, or about 8bn MAD.
The acquisition marked the return of Saham Group, founded by businessman and former Moroccan industry minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy, to the financial sector. The group sold its pan-African insurance business to South African insurer Sanlam in 2018 for more than $1bn.
The rebranding has included replacing Société Générale’s red-and-black logo at branches across the country. Before the change, SGMB had about 400 branches and served more than 1.5 million customers. It was the country’s fourth-largest bank by assets.
