1. Definition
Bank leverage sets a bank's total balance sheet against its equity. It is read as a number of times.
It says how many dinars the bank lends and invests for each dinar provided by its shareholders. The rest comes from deposits and other funding.
It is an accounting ratio. It weighs nothing by risk.
2. The calculation
Leverage sets average assets against average equity. Both averages are taken between the opening and the close of the half-year.
Example, the bank with the highest leverage: ATB, in the first half of 2026, with average assets of 8 001.8 million dinars, or 13.3 times its average equity.
Leverage links the two returns: ROA × leverage = ROE. At equal positive ROA, the bank with the highest leverage has the highest ROE.
3. Why it matters
It explains part of the gaps in ROE between banks, especially between banks with similar ROA. A high ROE can come from strong leverage more than from profitable assets.
It shows how thick the cushion is. The higher the leverage, the faster a given loss eats into equity.
It also shows room for growth. A bank already carrying a lot must strengthen its equity before lending more.
4. What it does not say
It does not say regulatory solvency. The capital adequacy ratio sets capital against risk-weighted assets; a dinar of government securities does not weigh there like a dinar of loans.
A high leverage is therefore not, on its own, a sign of weakness. Everything depends on what the assets hold.
Nor does it say the quality of equity. Accounting leverage takes the total published on the balance sheet, without the adjustments of regulatory capital.
5. Where to read it in Tunisian financial statements
Banks' financial statements follow Tunisian accounting standards NCT 21 to 25. Two lines are enough, on the balance sheet, at the opening and at the close of the half-year:
- total assets;
- total equity.
The capital adequacy ratio is read in the notes or the management report, in the paragraph on regulatory capital.
6. Three reading traps
First trap: confusing leverage with the capital adequacy ratio. Both speak of capital, not over the same denominator.
Second trap: leverage falls when the half-year's profit enters equity, and rises when dividends leave it. These calendar movements change nothing in the business.
Third trap: off-balance-sheet items are not in it. Guarantees given expose the bank without adding to its assets.
7. Ranking of the 10 listed banks by leverage, first half of 2026
Banks are ranked from the highest value to the lowest, amounts in millions of dinars:
| Rank | Bank | Average assets (TND m) | Average equity (TND m) | Leverage (times) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ATB | 8 001.8 | 599.9 | 13.3 |
| 2 | Attijari Bank | 13 888.4 | 1 086.6 | 12.8 |
| 3 | STB | 15 630.3 | 1 331.8 | 11.7 |
| 4 | BIAT | 27 323.0 | 2 381.4 | 11.5 |
| 5 | BH Bank | 15 303.3 | 1 376.0 | 11.1 |
| 6 | BNA | 25 257.2 | 2 415.5 | 10.5 |
| 7 | UBCI | 5 931.2 | 591.3 | 10.0 |
| 8 | UIB | 8 726.6 | 1 087.3 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Amen Bank | 12 880.3 | 1 725.5 | 7.5 |
| 10 | BT | 8 907.2 | 1 507.7 | 5.9 |
Definitions Leverage
Out of scope: BTE (preferred dividend shares) and Wifak International Bank (an Islamic bank).
Leverage ranges from 5.9 to 13.3 times depending on the bank. Across the 10 banks taken together, it stands at 10.1 times.
Key points
- Leverage = average assets / average equity, as a number of times.
- ROA × leverage = ROE: leverage amplifies the return on assets, and losses too.
- Accounting leverage is not regulatory solvency.
Read also: bank ROE, bank ROA, a bank's capital adequacy ratio, section 5 of the Readings note, the series method.
Sources: interim individual financial statements at 30 June 2026 published with the Conseil du marché financier (CMF), notes included.