As a result of a general economic liberalization policy, the Mauritanian banking sector underwent a profound change at the end of the 1990s.

Aware of the new challenges, and the economic opportunities that this implied, a well-known businessman, Isselmou TAJIDINE, decided in 1998 to apply for approval for the creation of a new bank.

In addition to Mauritanian partners, he calls on three European partners with whom he has been working for several years.

The latter (two Dutch and one French) who knew both the country and the qualities of the promoter well, committed themselves up to a third in the project.

The Central Bank granted its approval in April 1999, and in September of the same year, the Bank for Trade and Industry (BCI) opened its doors in Nouakchott.

In a country considered as a link between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, on a narrow and competitive market, the new institution will quickly impose itself on the banking sector.

Indeed, since its creation , BCI-Mauritania has recorded sustainable growth characterized by:

•  An active total multiplied by more than 11,
•  A share capital multiplied by 14.5,
•  Equity multiplied by 11,
•  Solvency and liquidity ratios reaching respectively 30% and 40% compared to their regulatory level which is respectively 10% and 20%,
•  An expansion materialized by the opening of 16 branches distributed throughout the national territory, with a total of 33 branches in the sub-region,
•  The opening of subsidiaries in Mali (2007), Guinea (2012) and Senegal (2015),
•  First Mauritanian bank internationally, 
• An international reputation that allows BCI-Mauritania to have lines of more than 120 Million USD, with first-rate institutions such as CitiBank, Natixis, Société Générale, Bred Bank, UBAF.

The growth of the BCI has therefore resulted in very satisfactory performances which place it among the top banks in the country. The result of rigorous management and strict compliance with its commitments, the reputation of the BCI has been affirmed in Mauritania, as well as abroad.

Finally, the bank has also been able to develop a network of several dozen financial and banking correspondents in most of the countries with which its clients work, in the forefront of which Natixis-Banques Populaires, correspondent and adviser from the first days, Citibank, Banque European Investment Bank (EIB) or the Islamic Development Company (SID) which opened lines of credit intended to compensate for the lack of long-term resources from which the country suffers.