This is not peeping, but information in the age of financial transparency. A concept introduced by the Tunisian financial market law, which requires the publication of company directors’ remuneration.
In 2021, the Tunisian insurance market accounted for premiums written of 2,833,204 MTD, up 10.15%, claims paid of 1,642,879 MTD, up 21.41%, and the amount of investments recorded in the assets of the balance sheet and the main source of income for Tunisian insurers (7,259 MTD in 2021) of 7,258,748 MTD, up 11.09%. The consolidated balance sheets have generated a profit of 225,041 MTD against a profit of 231,547 MTD in 2020.
In 2022, and considering only the activity of the 6 insurance companies, the total amount of premiums written reached 1,303 MTD against 1,163 MTD, an increase of 12%. All of them were profitable, with the exception of the UIB insurance, managed by a Frenchman, who remains the highest paid among his peers. In 2022, the only 5 insurers that had published their balance sheets made a profit of almost 82 MTD.
Is the remuneration of the top managers of Tunisian insurance companies linked to the results achieved? Obviously not, since in 2021 there were some among the least profitable but in the pantheon of remunerations, another among the top of the results and yet another among the five best remunerations.
The cumulative Net Banking Income (NBI) of the 12 listed banks reached 6,224 MTD in 2022 against 5,551 MTD in 2021, an increase of 12.1% and a cumulative profit of 1,378,589. The 12 banks were not profitable. The exception remains QNB, whose CEO nevertheless ranks 3rd in terms of remuneration.
With an ROE (2.0%), ATB is the bank that paid its managers the most in 2022. Banque de Tunisie, in second place in terms of remuneration, had only the 4th best ROE (return on equity) in the market.
Attijari, which achieved the highest ROE last year (20%), was only in 5th place for the best remuneration of banks on the market, and only in 6th place; with an ROE of 12.4%, Amen Bank was in 6th place for the best remuneration.
It is therefore clear that the remuneration of bank managers in Tunisia is not based on either remuneration or results. It is also worth noting that public banks still offer the lowest salaries, but that they remain a stepping stone to the private sector, with QNB being the most lucrative example.
What is certain for bankers, as for insurers, is that remuneration is always decided by the board of directors, and the board usually has reasons that management ignores!
