Definition
The capital adequacy ratio sets a bank's net capital against its risks, weighted by their nature. It says what share of those risks its capital can absorb.
Tier 1 does the same calculation with net core capital alone, without supplementary capital. It therefore cannot exceed the total ratio.
The formula and how to read it
Capital adequacy ratio = net capital ÷ risk-weighted assets × 100.
Tier 1 = net core capital ÷ risk-weighted assets × 100.
The banks' publications recall the regulatory thresholds, those of BNA and Amen Bank for instance: 10% for the capital adequacy ratio, 7% for Tier 1. The gap between the ratio and its threshold is the bank's headroom.
The ratio is read, not ranked. A high ratio can come from ample capital or from modest risks. A ratio closer to the threshold can come from a bank that lends more or that pays out more. The Capital adequacy section of the banks note reads it bank by bank.
Where to read it in the banks' publications
The ratio appears neither on the balance sheet nor in the income statement. Banks publish it in the notes to their financial statements or in their annual report, filed with the Conseil du marché financier (CMF).
The name changes from one bank to another: «ratio de solvabilité» at BNA, «ratio de capital» at Amen Bank, «ratio de couverture des risques» at BIAT. Tier 1 becomes «Tier One» or «Tier I».
Three reading traps
First trap: dates differ. Depending on the bank, the latest published ratio dates from the annual closing or from the half-year closing. Two ratios six months apart do not compare like two snapshots of the same day: the date of each ratio is shown in the table.
Second trap: the timing of the calculation. BH Bank specifies that its ratio is stated before the dividend payout. BIAT takes its net capital after appropriation of the year's profit. The two ratios do not measure the same moment: dividends paid out leave capital.
Third trap: «n.a.» is not zero. The cell says that no ratio is published with the CMF, nothing more. It does not say that the bank is below the threshold.
The 10 banks covered
Banks are listed alphabetically, with the latest ratio published with the CMF and its date:
| Bank | Total capital ratio | Tier 1 | Date of ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amen Bank | 16.85% | 12.47% | 31/12/2025 |
| ATB | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| Attijari Bank | 13.89% | 11.32% | 30/06/2026 |
| BH Bank | 15.8% | 13.28% | 31/12/2025 |
| BIAT | 15.81% | 10.50% | 31/12/2025 |
| BNA | 22.13% | 19.07% | 31/12/2025 |
| BT | 16.23% | n.a. | 31/12/2025 |
| STB | 15.68% | 12.80% | 31/12/2025 |
| UBCI | 14.55% | n.a. | 31/12/2025 |
| UIB | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
Out of scope: BTE (preferred dividend shares) and Wifak International Bank (an Islamic bank).
Of the 10 banks, 8 publish a capital adequacy ratio and 6 a Tier 1 ratio. The capital adequacy ratio ranges from 13.89% to 22.13% depending on the bank; Tier 1, from 10.50% to 19.07%. No ratio is computed for the banks taken together: it would take each bank's risk-weighted assets, and not all of them publish them.
Key points
- Capital adequacy ratio = net capital ÷ risk-weighted assets; Tier 1 = net core capital ÷ risk-weighted assets.
- The thresholds recalled in the banks' publications: 10% and 7%.
- It is read with its date and its source; an «n.a.» cell is never a zero.
Sources: latest ratio published by each bank with the Conseil du marché financier (CMF), in its financial statements or its annual report. The brief's data (CSV), with their conventions, which give the source document and page of each ratio.