Regulatory Alerts2025-11-04
Circular to Banks No. 2025-14 of November 4, 2025
The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia issued Circular No. 2025-14 to mandate that banks apply preferential interest rates, equivalent or equal to the money market rate plus a profit margin not exceeding 1%, on loans granted from their own resources to finance community companies. Grounded in Article 70 (ter) of Decree-Law No. 2022-15, this directive standardizes lending margins and supersedes prior credit granting procedures by capping the profit margin at 1 percent. The circular takes effect immediately upon publication, thereby aligning bank lending costs with current money market conditions to support targeted corporate financing.
Tunis, November 4, 2025 CIRCULAR TO BANKS NO. 2025-14
OBJECT: Establishment of preferential interest rates applied to loans granted from banks' own resources in favor of community companies.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Having regard to Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016, establishing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Having regard to Law No. 2016-48 of July 11, 2016, on banks and financial institutions, Having regard to Decree-Law No. 2022-15 of March 20, 2022, on community companies as amended by Decree-Law No. 2025-3 of October 2, 2025 and notably its Article 70 (ter), Having regard to Circular No. 87-47 of December 23, 1987, on the procedures for granting, monitoring and refinancing of credits as amended and supplemented by subsequent texts, Having regard to the opinion of the Compliance Control Committee No. 2025-14 dated November 3, 2025 as provided for by Article 42 of the aforementioned Law No. 2016-35,
Decides:
Article 1 - In application of the provisions of Article 70 (ter) of the aforementioned Decree-Law No. 2022-15, banks must apply to loans granted from their own resources and intended for the financing of community companies preferential interest rates equivalent or equal to the money market interest rate increased by a profit margin not exceeding 1%.
Article 2 - This circular takes effect as of the date of its publication.
The Governor, Fethi Zouhaier Nouri