Moroccan businessman Moulay Hafid Elalamy is targeting the country’s wealthy families and business owners with a new private-banking and family-office operation at Saham Bank, extending his financial-services interests into investment advice, asset protection and succession planning. The unit, launched Oct. 22, will serve clients seeking to preserve fortunes and transfer wealth across generations.

A new focus on family wealth

The operation, called Saham Bank, Private Banking & Family Office, will provide investment strategy, wealth structuring, inheritance planning and advice on transferring businesses to younger generations. Its launch comes as family-controlled companies face decisions over succession, ownership and the long-term management of assets accumulated by their founders.

Each client will have a dedicated private banker supported by specialists in investment strategy, asset structuring and wealth planning. The service will also include a mobile application with a consolidated wealth dashboard, online stock trading and an artificial intelligence assistant, combining personal advice with digital tools for managing financial assets.

From French lender to Saham

Saham Bank was formerly Société Générale Marocaine de Banques, part of the French banking group’s international operations. Elalamy’s Saham Group agreed in April 2024 to acquire Société Générale’s 57.67% stake in the Moroccan lender, alongside its interests in insurer La Marocaine Vie, in a transaction valued at €745 million, or about $834 million.

The deal was completed in December 2024, bringing the bank and insurance business under Saham’s control. Société Générale said the disposal supported its efforts to simplify operations and strengthen capital. The transaction value covered both the controlling bank stake and the insurance interests, rather than Saham Bank alone.

The lender adopted the Saham Bank name in June 2025, replacing a French banking identity dating to 1913. It now operates about 278 branches, 13 subsidiaries and employs more than 3,000 people, giving the group an established platform from which to expand its services for wealthy clients.

A broader financial play

Elalamy built Saham into one of Morocco’s prominent business groups, expanding from insurance into outsourcing, health care, education, property and financial services. The private-banking launch adds another layer to that portfolio, targeting the wealth generated by entrepreneurs, corporate executives and families with substantial business holdings.

Family-office services typically extend beyond conventional banking to cover investments, property, business ownership, inheritance and the transfer of control between generations. Salima Benhima, who leads the new division, said the bank aims to combine personalized relationships, investment advice and technology to meet the needs of wealthy clients and their successors.

Pricing and targets remain unclear

Saham Bank has not disclosed the minimum wealth required to qualify, its target client base, expected assets under management or the fees it plans to charge. Those details will help determine how the new operation positions itself in Morocco’s private-banking market and how much business it can attract.

The launch marked Saham Group’s return to the financial services sector. Founded by Moroccan businessman and former industry minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the group sold its pan-African insurance business to South Africa’s Sanlam in 2018 for more than $1 billion. Its latest move shifts the focus toward managing and preserving wealth, rather than primarily underwriting the risks associated with it.