Definition
Net banking income (NBI) is a bank's income after its banking operating expenses. It brings together the interest margin, net fees, the result of securities and foreign exchange operations, and income from the investment portfolio.
NBI growth sets this income against that of the same period a year earlier. Here, the first half of 2026 against the first half of 2025.
The formula and how to read it
NBI growth = (NBI for H1 2026 − NBI for H1 2025) ÷ NBI for H1 2025 × 100.
A half-year is compared with the same half-year of the previous year. Both periods thus have the same length and the same place in the year. The measure is in current dinars, with no adjustment for inflation.
Growth is read, not ranked: it is read alongside what drives it. The NBI section of the banks note reads it bank by bank.
Where to read it in Tunisian financial statements
Bank financial statements follow the Tunisian accounting standards NCT 21 to 25. NBI is a subtotal of the income statement:
- banking operating income, lines PR1 to PR4;
- less banking operating expenses, lines CH1 to CH3.
The financial statements at 30 June show, next to the half-year, the same half-year of the previous year. That comparative column is the one used here.
Three reading traps
First trap: the previous year may have been restated. A bank that reclassifies lines redoes its comparative column. The H1 2025 NBI published in 2026 is then no longer the one published in 2025. At BH Bank, recoveries of written-off interest were taken out of H1 2025 NBI: depending on the figure used, growth changes order of magnitude. The brief uses the comparative column published with the 2026 accounts.
Second trap: growth does not say where it comes from. NBI grows through lending, through fees or through the securities portfolio. Two NBIs rising at the same pace can therefore have different drivers. Section 1 of the Readings note separates what comes from lending from what comes from securities.
Third trap: rising NBI says nothing about profit. Overheads and the cost of risk are read below NBI. At BH Bank, NBI rising in the first half of 2026 goes with net profit falling sharply.
The 10 banks covered in the first half of 2026
Banks are listed alphabetically, amounts in TND million:
| Bank | NBI H1 2026 (TND m) | NBI H1 2025 (TND m) | NBI growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amen Bank | 362.4 | 308.0 | +17.7% |
| ATB | 187.0 | 171.3 | +9.2% |
| Attijari Bank | 374.8 | 356.5 | +5.1% |
| BH Bank | 345.7 | 318.1 | +8.7% |
| BIAT | 802.7 | 788.1 | +1.9% |
| BNA | 560.1 | 537.0 | +4.3% |
| BT | 292.1 | 261.2 | +11.8% |
| STB | 313.7 | 350.4 | −10.5% |
| UBCI | 194.9 | 175.8 | +10.9% |
| UIB | 273.8 | 258.4 | +5.9% |
Out of scope: BTE (preferred dividend shares) and Wifak International Bank (an Islamic bank).
NBI growth ranges from −10.5% to +17.7% depending on the bank. Across the 10 banks taken together, NBI changes by +5.2%.
Key points
- NBI growth = (NBI for the half-year − NBI for the same half-year a year earlier) ÷ NBI for that earlier half-year.
- It is computed on the published comparative column, restated where applicable.
- It is read alongside its sources of income, and alongside what is left as profit.
Sources: interim individual financial statements at 30 June 2026 published with the Conseil du marché financier (CMF), notes included. The brief's data (CSV), with their conventions.