Home lists 100 Most Powerful Arabs 2023 Othman Benjelloun Chairman and CEO, Bank of Africa Origin: Morocco Residence: Morocco Sector: Finance Despite grappling with worrying levels of debt servicing, strong inflationary pressure and a host of unfavourable political situations, the Bank of Africa exceeded its 2022 targets, both commercially and financially. The bank reported a 19 per cent increase in gross operating income and an improvement in the cost of risk (-12 per cent); the net income group share rose by 29.5 per cent to EUR136m. In addition, the total balance sheet grew by 9.3 per cent in 2022 to EUR10,279m. Performance was mainly driven by the strong rise in outstanding customer loans, exceeding EUR5bn. Under Benjelloun’s leadership, the Bank of Africa Group is currently present in 18 countries and boasts a network of 18 commercial banks, a global holding company, two regional holding companies, an investment company, two technical support subsidiaries, two processing and IT support companies and a representative office.