Moroccan Debt Administration
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The Moroccan Debt Administration (French: administration de la dette marocaine), formally known as the Contrôle de la dette from 1904 to 1910 and after that as the Administration du Contrôle de la dette publique mahghzénienne (referring to the Moroccan monarchy as the Makhzen),[1]: 57 was an entity set up by the French government in 1904 to administer the sovereign debt of the Moroccan Monarchy.[1]
The Moroccan Debt Administration originated in 1904, as Morocco's sovereign debt, which had increased significantly following the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860) and the First Melillan campaign of 1894, was restructured by the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (BPPB) in coordination with the French government. as a consequence, France became the only creditor of the Moroccan government.[2]: 581 The loan contract was signed on 12 June 1904 by Moroccan Foreign Minister Si Abdelkrim Ben Slimane, Moroccan Finance Minister Si Mohammed Tazi, and the BPPB's representative Georges Zangarussiano. The loan amount was 62,5 million francs, divided in 125.000 bonds of nominal value 500 francs each, for an interest rate of 5 percent. It was guaranteed by revenue from the Moroccan customs, in the collection of which the Debt Administration would be directly involved. A further loan was negotiated in 1910.[3]
An indirect consequence of the 1904 debt restructuring was the establishment of the State Bank of Morocco in 1907, also in Tangier, following the Algeciras Conference of 1906.[2]: 584
The administration acted on behalf of the private debt consortium, under the auspices of the French government but free from hierarchical authority of the French Consul in Tangier. It was initially led by French diplomat Eugène Regnault, then by Gaston Guiot under whom its expanded into an increasing number of state-like functions, until the Treaty of Fes formally established the French protectorate in Morocco in March 1912. It kept receiving Morocco's customs revenue until 1918,[1]: 106 and was still in activity in 1925.[4]