1. Definition
Net income is the last line of the income statement. It says what the bank earned, or lost, over the period, once its costs, the cost of its risks and tax are paid. In French it is called résultat net.
It is the amount that belongs to shareholders: paid out as dividends, or kept to strengthen equity.
2. From net banking income to net income
Net income is read by going down the income statement, from net banking income:
- less staff costs, general operating expenses and depreciation;
- less provisions on loans and on the investment portfolio, net of write-backs: the cost of risk;
- plus or minus other income and ordinary items;
- less income tax;
- plus or minus extraordinary items.
Example, the bank with the highest net income: BIAT, with 271.4 million dinars in the first half of 2026. At least one bank ends the period with a loss. The lowest result is −27.6 million dinars.
3. Why it matters
It is the figure everything else leads to. A bank can have high net banking income and a weak result if its costs or provisions absorb it.
It feeds equity. Retained profit strengthens solvency and carries the lending of the following periods.
It sets what shareholders can receive. The dividend is voted on the year's result, by the general meeting.
4. What it does not say
It does not say profitability. The same result does not mean the same thing for a small bank and a large one: ROE and ROA set it against equity and assets.
It does not say where it comes from. A fall can come from revenue, costs or the cost of risk; only going down the income statement shows which.
It does not say how long it lasts. A one-off gain or a provision write-back lifts it once, without repeating.
5. Where to read it in Tunisian financial statements
Bank financial statements follow the Tunisian accounting standards NCT 21 to 25. Net income sits on the last line of the income statement, «Résultat net de la période».
Two other documents help to understand it:
- the notes to the income statement, which detail provisions and other items;
- the statement of changes in equity, which shows what becomes of the result: reserves, dividends.
6. Three reading traps
First trap: individual and consolidated accounts do not give the same figure. The consolidated accounts add the subsidiaries and separate the group share; the series reads individual accounts, as the bank's regulatory ratios do.
Second trap: a half-year is not a year. Provisions and adjustments often concentrate at the annual closing; the first-half result is not half the year.
Third trap: net income must be set against the bank's size. Ranking banks by their result first ranks them by size; profitability is read in ROE and ROA.
7. Ranking of the 10 listed banks by net income, first half of 2026
The banks are ranked from the highest net income to the lowest, amounts in million dinars:
| Rank | Bank | Net income (TND m) | Net banking income (TND m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIAT | 271.4 | 802.7 |
| 2 | Amen Bank | 161.9 | 362.4 |
| 3 | BNA | 156.3 | 560.1 |
| 4 | Attijari Bank | 123.1 | 374.8 |
| 5 | BT | 95.6 | 292.1 |
| 6 | UIB | 52.3 | 273.8 |
| 7 | UBCI | 30.0 | 194.9 |
| 8 | BH Bank | 15.2 | 345.7 |
| 9 | STB | 9.1 | 313.7 |
| 10 | ATB | −27.6 | 187.0 |
Definitions Net banking income
Out of scope: BTE (preferred dividend shares) and Wifak International Bank (an Islamic bank).
Net income ranges from −27.6 to 271.4 million dinars depending on the bank.
Key points
- Net income = net banking income − costs − cost of risk ± other items − tax.
- It says what the bank earns, not whether it is profitable: ROE and ROA say that.
- Over a half-year, it is not half the year.
Read also: bank net banking income, bank ROE, bank ROA, the cost of risk, 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.