Union Internationale de Banques (UIB) reported a solid performance for the first half of 2026, driven by resilient deposit growth, improved interest margins and a sharp uptick in securities portfolio income, despite a challenging regulatory environment.
As of June 30, 2026, customer deposits held steady at a vigorous level, reaching 7,183 million dinars (MD), a 1.5% increase (+104.9 MD) compared with 7,078 MD a year earlier. The expansion reflects renewed depositor confidence, particularly visible in demand deposits (+325.2 MD) and savings accounts (+217.6 MD). This surge more than offset a 475 MD decline in term deposits and certificates of deposit, signaling a clear client preference for more liquid instruments.
Continued support to the economy and margin discipline
Remaining faithful to its role as a key financier of the national economy, the bank expanded its net outstanding loans to customers by 2.2% to 6,480 MD, representing a net injection of 138 MD over the past twelve months. At the same time, the bank optimized its borrowings and special resources, reducing them from 134.3 MD to 98 MD.
On the operational front, while total banking operating income edged down 0.9% to 450.7 MD, margin optimization delivered outstanding results. Net interest income rose 2.8% to 146.1 MD. Notably, when adjusting for the regulatory impact of Law 2024-41 (amending the commercial code), which amounted to 15.8 MD in H1 2026 versus 12.1 MD in H1 2025, underlying interest income growth stood at a robust 5%. Fee and commission income remained virtually flat at 76.9 MD (+0.3%).
Securities portfolio emerges as growth catalyst
The real accelerator for the bank’s top line came from market activities. Revenues from the trading and investment securities portfolio jumped 26.8% to 50.2 MD, compared with 39.6 MD in the same period last year.
Thanks to this momentum, Net Banking Income (NBI) reached 273.2 MD, up 5.7% year-on-year—or 6.8% when excluding the one-off regulatory effect of Law 2024-41.
Operational efficiency gains
Driven by rigorous cost management, operating expenses rose only 1.6% to 148.2 MD, with staff costs similarly contained at +1.6% to 109 MD. As a result, the bank significantly improved its cost-to-income ratio, which fell to 54.3% from 56.4% in June 2025. Adjusted for the regulatory impact, the efficiency ratio reached an excellent 51.3%.
This combination of revenue growth and strict cost control enabled UIB to generate a Gross Operating Income (GOI) of 125.2 MD, a substantial 11.1% increase and 13% on an adjusted basis excluding Law 2024-41.
“These results demonstrate the resilience of our business model and our ability to adapt to changing customer preferences while maintaining strict cost discipline,” a bank spokesperson commented.
“Our strong performance in market activities and sustained lending to the economy position us well for the second half of the year.”
