In July 1940, facing challenging prospects at home following the German invasion of France, the Paris-based BNCI acquired the Banque de l'Union Nord-Africaine in Algiers to develop its activity outside Europe, renamed it Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie en Afrique, and opened a branch in Casablanca.

French architect Alexandre Courtois [fr] had won the design competition in 1942,[4] and moved to Casablanca in 1943 to oversee the construction works.

[5]: 23 In 1964, the newly independent Moroccan government implemented a policy of marocanisation of the banking sector, aimed at shedding colonial legacies.

[6] Meanwhile, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (BPPB) had started financing the Moroccan Sultanate in 1902, and from 1907 was the controlling shareholder of the State Bank of Morocco.

In November 2001, BMCI also acquired ABN Amro Bank Maroc to consolidate its position in the Morocco financial services market.