1. Definition
Net banking income is a bank's revenue after the costs directly tied to its trade: the interest paid to depositors and lenders, and the fees it pays. In French it is called produit net bancaire, or PNB.
It plays the part that turnover plays for a company. It differs on one point: the cost of the raw material, borrowed money, has already been deducted.
2. The calculation
Net banking income adds up four balances, all published in the income statement:
- the interest margin: interest received less interest paid;
- net fees: fees received less fees paid;
- net gains on the trading portfolio and financial operations, foreign exchange included;
- investment portfolio income.
Example, the bank with the highest net banking income: BIAT, with 802.7 million dinars in the first half of 2026.
The weight of each balance varies widely from one bank to the next. The share of the investment portfolio in net banking income ranges from 8.1% to 70.4% depending on the bank.
3. Why it matters
It is the top of the income statement. Overheads, the cost of risk and tax are paid out of it; what remains is net income.
It measures a bank's economic size better than its balance sheet. Two banks with the same balance sheet can draw very different revenue from their business.
It is the denominator of efficiency ratios. The cost-to-income ratio sets overheads against it, and the cost of risk is often read as a share of it.
4. What it does not say
It does not say what the bank earns. A bank with high net banking income can end in a loss if its costs or provisions absorb it.
It does not say the quality of the revenue. An interest margin that repeats from one half-year to the next does not weigh the same as a one-off gain on securities.
It does not say how it moves. The net banking income growth brick compares each bank with itself, a year earlier.
5. Where to read it in Tunisian financial statements
Bank financial statements follow the Tunisian accounting standards NCT 21 to 25. Net banking income sits on a single line of the income statement, «Produit net bancaire», after:
- banking operating income, PR1 to PR4;
- banking operating expenses, CH1 to CH3.
The notes to the income statement detail each line: the nature of interest, fees and portfolio income.
6. Three reading traps
First trap: the interest margin is not all of net banking income. At a bank, the investment portfolio can weigh more than the interest margin itself; reading net banking income without its composition confuses a lending bank with an investing bank.
Second trap: investment portfolio income includes interest on Treasury bonds. It depends on rates and on government policy, not on the bank's commercial drive.
Third trap: a half-year only compares with the same half-year. Dividends from equity holdings mostly arrive in the first half; they lift net banking income for that period.
7. Ranking of the 10 listed banks by net banking income, first half of 2026
The banks are ranked from the highest net banking income to the lowest, amounts in million dinars:
| Rank | Bank | Net banking income (TND m) | Interest margin (TND m) | Net fees (TND m) | Net trading gains (TND m) | Investment portfolio income (TND m) | Share of investment portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIAT | 802.7 | 258.4 | 144.9 | 105.9 | 293.6 | 36.6% |
| 2 | BNA | 560.1 | 65.2 | 78.8 | 21.7 | 394.4 | 70.4% |
| 3 | Attijari Bank | 374.8 | 125.0 | 64.1 | 40.0 | 145.6 | 38.9% |
| 4 | Amen Bank | 362.4 | 67.9 | 64.8 | 40.4 | 189.3 | 52.2% |
| 5 | BH Bank | 345.7 | 106.3 | 67.3 | 14.4 | 157.6 | 45.6% |
| 6 | STB | 313.7 | 9.2 | 57.7 | 30.5 | 216.3 | 68.9% |
| 7 | BT | 292.1 | 166.7 | 40.9 | 9.7 | 74.8 | 25.6% |
| 8 | UIB | 273.8 | 146.7 | 76.9 | 28.1 | 22.1 | 8.1% |
| 9 | UBCI | 194.9 | 94.7 | 33.7 | 45.3 | 21.2 | 10.9% |
| 10 | ATB | 187.0 | 87.6 | 33.2 | 11.4 | 54.8 | 29.3% |
Definitions Net banking income · Interest margin · fees · Investment portfolio
Out of scope: BTE (preferred dividend shares) and Wifak International Bank (an Islamic bank).
Net banking income ranges from 187.0 to 802.7 million dinars depending on the bank.
Key points
- Net banking income adds up the interest margin, net fees, net trading gains and investment portfolio income.
- It is the bank's revenue, not its profit: costs, cost of risk and tax remain to be paid.
- Its composition matters as much as its level: it says what the bank lives on.
Read also: net banking income growth, net interest margin, the investment portfolio, the cost-to-income ratio, the Readings note, the series methodology.
Sources: interim individual financial statements at 30 June 2026 published with the Conseil du marché financier (CMF), notes included.