STB Bank, one of Tunisia’s leading state-owned banks, announced on Thursday a landmark return to dividend distribution at its Ordinary General Assembly, marking a pivotal moment in its financial and strategic repositioning.
The bank’s shareholders approved a total dividend distribution of 31 million Tunisian dinars (approx. €9.5 million) for the 2025 financial year.
The decision reflects the bank’s restored financial health and its renewed ability to generate sustainable performance, ending a distribution freeze that followed its 2015 recapitalization.
According to the bank, the move concludes a long-term restructuring process launched after the 2015 capital injection. Since then, STB has worked to progressively lift all constraints on dividend payouts, achieving a full absorption of its retained losses, complete repayment of the state’s endowment, and the clearance of all reserves previously raised by statutory auditors.
For the 2025 fiscal year, STB posted a net profit of 66 million dinars, a sharp improvement that enabled a significant boost in shareholders’ equity to 1,344 million dinars.
Prudential indicators underscore the bank’s robust recovery: its solvency ratio stands at 15.7%, and its liquidity ratio at 1,060%, both well above regulatory requirements, highlighting the bank’s ability to operate in a secure and resilient environment.
The return to dividends was conducted with full regulatory compliance, including prior authorization from the Central Bank of Tunisia. The regulator’s approval signals confidence in STB’s financial solidity, governance quality, and the sustainability of its development model.
“Through this decision, STB Bank sends a strong signal of confidence to the market and all its investors,” the bank said in a statement. “It illustrates our ability to combine financial performance, management discipline, and long-term strategic vision.”
STB added that it is now entering a new phase of development focused on sustainable value creation, enhancing its attractiveness to investors, and continuing its mission to actively finance the national economy, all while adhering to the highest standards of prudence, soundness, and performance.
