France's Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) has transferred control of its offshore branch in Morocco's Tangier free zone to a local bank in which it is the controlling shareholder, a banking source says.

BNP, which set up the offshore unit in 1992, has decided to turn it over to Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (BMCI) because the opportunities for busi ness in the free zone have proved disappointing, the source told MEED.

'It was more convenient to connect this branch with BMCI. Compared to (other offshore zones like) the Caymans or Panama, the advantages from the Tangier rules are few,' the source says. Banque Nationale de Paris Internationale (BNPI) owns a controlling stake in BMCI.