Anis Guezzi, a professor at Zitouna University, stated that, technically, there are no Islamic banks in Tunisia.
“The banks presented as Islamic are universal and are all subject to Law 48 of 2016, which governs banks and financial institutions.
Article 4 of this law stipulates that banks perform four or five main operations, namely granting credit, leasing, credit management, payment services, and Islamic finance.
This means that any Tunisian bank could engage in Islamic finance,” he explained during an interview on Mosaique FM.
He added that Islamic banks are exempt from applying Article 412 of the Commercial Code, as they do not grant traditional credit but instead opt for “Al Murabaha,” a sales contract governed by the rules of Islamic finance.
It is worth noting that Article 412 stipulates that any individual who has benefited from a credit over seven years and has repaid it for three years can request a reduction in the interest rate on the remaining amount, provided they submit an application to the concerned bank.
