French bank CIC increases share in Morocco's BMCE

RABAT, Feb 6 (Reuters) - French bank Credit Industriel and Commercial (CC.PA) (CIC) raised its stake in Morocco's second-biggest private bank BMCE (BMCE.CS) to 19.9 percent from 15.05 percent, the Moroccan bank said on Friday.

"The move illustrates the commitment of the two partners to pursue the close cooperation they had begun in 2004 and develop synergies in technological, retail, investment banking and international fields, namely in Africa," BMCE added.

BMCE said the deal was worth 2.26 billion Moroccan dirhams ($261.1 million). (Reporting by Lamine Ghanmi; Editing by David Cowell)