Most profitable banks in Tunisia in 2026: the ranking by ROE

This ranking orders the 10 banks listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange by return on equity in the first half of 2026. It answers a simple question: for each dinar shareholders leave in the bank, how much did the bank earn? BTE and Wifak International Bank stay outside the scope: the first has part of its capital in preferred dividend shares, the second is an Islamic bank.

ROE sets a bank's net profit against its average equity. An ROE of 15% means the bank earns, over a year, 15 dinars of profit for every 100 dinars of equity. The measure and its limits are set out in the definition of a bank's ROE.

Net profit for the half-year multiplied by 2, divided by the average of opening and closing equity. Same calculation for the 10 banks, on their individual financial statements; it may differ from the ratio a bank publishes. Details in the Method and publishing principles.

Definition and formula Bank ROE

Figures at 30 June 2026, taken from the interim individual financial statements.

Next update: 2026 annual accounts, to be filed by 30 April 2027. Upcoming

Definitions ROE

ROE ranges from −9.2% to 22.8%. Dispersion: the top of the ranking exceeds the simple average of the 10 banks by 12.4 percentage points, and 5 banks stand above that average.

At the top, BIAT posts an ROE of 22.8%. This level rests on both the return on its assets, 1.99%, and its leverage, 11.5.

The gap with the rest of the ranking does not come from a single factor. The next table places each bank on the three ratios that make up ROE, and on the cost of risk, which absorbs a varying share of it.

Definitions ROE · net banking income · Leverage

Three readings emerge from the table. A bank may owe its rank to a high net margin: a larger share of its net banking income remains after costs, cost of risk and tax. It may owe it to assets that earn more. It may finally owe it to higher leverage, which magnifies profit as it would magnify a loss.

The lowest ROE in the ranking is −9.2%, which is a loss. The last ranks are read in the table, bank by bank. A low ROE does not say why on its own: the table of gaps shows what weighs, the margin, the assets or the cost of risk.

Taken together, the 10 banks post an ROE of 12.6%. The simple average of their 10 ROEs is 10.4%. The gap between the two comes from the weight of the largest banks, whose equity counts for more in the total.

The ROE of the same half a year earlier requires that period's average equity, which is not assembled here. The table therefore follows net profit, the numerator of ROE, bank by bank.

A rank does not always measure a real difference. Between BIAT and Attijari Bank, the gap is 0.1 percentage point. When it is counted in tenths of a point, one provision more or less is enough to reverse the order. The ranking also rests on an annualised half-year, which can differ from the result of the full year. It is therefore read with the figures, not only with the number.

Which is the most profitable bank in Tunisia? Among listed banks, BIAT has the highest ROE in the first half of 2026, at 22.8%.

How is a bank's ROE calculated? Annualised net profit is divided by the period's average equity.

Why are two banks with the same ROE not equivalent? Because one may owe it to profitable assets and the other to high leverage, more exposed in the event of a loss.

Does the ranking change from one period to the next? Yes: provisions, one-off items and dividends move it. Each period has its own updated publication.

Read also: a bank's ROE, return on assets, bank leverage, cost of risk, the ranking of banks in Tunisia.

Sources: interim individual financial statements at 30 June 2026 published with the Financial Market Council (CMF), notes included.