Updated statistics from the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) as of the end of December last year reveal significant developments.
In 2024, the BCT’s annual balance sheet reached a historic level, accounting for 33% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
Claims on the State now occupy an increasing share, rising to 26.1% of the balance sheet—a fourfold increase compared to 2019, when they represented 6.7% and a stark contrast to the mere 0.4% in 2011.
A similar trend is observed among deposit banks. While credit growth to the economy, including the public sector, remains weak for the second consecutive year (+3.2% year-on-year, following +2.2% in 2023), loans to the State surged by 30.4% compared to the previous year.
As a result, banks’ claims on the State now represent 16.4% of their total assets, a ratio that has doubled over the past decade (8.7% in December 2015).
This shift has also enabled banks to comply, for the first time since 2010, with the transformation ratio set by the BCT in 2018. The loans-to-deposits ratio fell below the 120% threshold in 2024, reaching 117.1%.
