Tunisia, August 9, 2022

Circular to Banks and Financial Institutions No. 06 of 2022 Subject: Determination of conditions and methods for disbursing amounts related to benefiting from the state guarantee covering the difference between the margin applied on investment loans and financing and the interbank market interest rate in favor of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, having reviewed Law No. 35 of 2016 dated April 25, 2016 on determining the basic system of the Central Bank of Tunisia, and Law No. 48 of 2016 dated July 11, 2016 on banks and financial institutions, and Law No. 47 of 2019 dated May 29, 2019 on improving the investment climate as amended by Decree No. 21 of 2021 dated December 28, 2021 on the Finance Act of 2022, particularly Article 21 (new) thereof, and Presidential Decree No. 536 of 2022 dated June 7, 2022 on determining the conditions and procedures for benefiting from the state guarantee covering the difference between the margin applied on investment loans and financing and the interbank market interest rate in favor of MSMEs, particularly Articles 2, 6, 8, 9 and 10 thereof, and Central Bank of Tunisia Circular No. 6 of 2008 dated March 10, 2008 on information centralization, and Circular to Banks and Financial Institutions No. 04 of 2020 dated February 24, 2020 on determining the conditions and methods for disbursing amounts related to benefiting from the state guarantee covering the difference between the surplus margin of investment loans and the interbank market interest rate within three percentage points for loans granted by banks and financial institutions to MSMEs, and the opinion of the Compliance Monitoring Committee No. 06 of 2022 dated August 8, 2022, has decided the following:

Article 1: A bank account named "State Guarantee Account for the Difference between the Margin Applied on Investment Loans and Financing and the Interbank Market Interest Rate in Favor of MSMEs" is opened in the books of the Central Bank of Tunisia, in accordance with Article 9 of Presidential Decree No. 536 of 2022 cited above.

Article 2: The resources of the account mentioned in Article 1 are used to disburse amounts resulting from applying the state guarantee covering the difference between the margin applied on investment loans and financing and the interbank market interest rate, within three percentage points, in favor of banks and financial institutions for loans and financing granted to MSMEs during the period between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2022, provided that the applied margin does not exceed 3.5%. The date of registration of the loan or financing contract with financial management is used to determine the disbursement date, the interbank market interest rate, and the applied margin on financing for Islamic banking operations.

Article 3: MSMEs operating in the agricultural sector and other productive sectors, excluding the commercial, financial, real estate development, hydrocarbon, and mining sectors, benefit from this guarantee. Their investment volume, considering establishment and expansion investments, ranges between one hundred fifty (150) thousand dinars and fifteen (15) million dinars, including working capital.

Article 4: The guarantee for financial leasing operations applies exclusively to the financing of equipment, machinery, utility vehicles, and real estate within the establishment and expansion of MSMEs as stipulated in Article 3 of this circular.

Article 5: The financing bank or financial institution shall, until June 30, 2023, deposit the application for benefiting from the guarantee stipulated in Article 21 (new) of Law No. 47 of 2019 dated May 29, 2019 cited above, with the General Administration for the Promotion of MSMEs at the Ministry responsible for industry, following approval of a loan or investment financing. The application for benefiting from the guarantee stipulated in Article 21 (new) of Law No. 47 of 2019 dated May 29, 2019 must be accompanied by the following documents:

• A certificate of deposit of the investment declaration with the relevant structures,
• An investment submission card specifying the capital structure, contribution ratios, and financing structure,
• A copy of the loan or financing contract concluded between the bank/financial institution and the concerned enterprises, accompanied by a copy of the repayment schedule,
• A future utilization schedule for at least the next five years,
• Audited financial statements of the benefiting enterprise, certified by an auditor, for expansion investments.

Article 6: Upon the enterprise obtaining the guarantee grant decision, the concerned bank or financial institution shall submit a file to the Central Bank of Tunisia containing:

• A copy of the guarantee grant decision,
• A copy of the registered loan or financing contract.
  The amounts resulting from applying this guarantee are disbursed to the bank or financial institution from the dedicated account mentioned in Article 1 of this circular, after submitting a withdrawal request containing the bank identification number (BIC/IBAN) of the account and a detailed statement specifying the withdrawn amounts and the state-guaranteed difference between the margin on investment loans/financing and the interbank market interest rate within three percentage points, according to the model in Annex 1 of this circular, during the first ten working days of each quarter.

Article 7: The amounts resulting from the state guarantee covering the difference between the margin on investment loans/financing and the interbank market interest rate within three percentage points are disbursed to the concerned banks/financial institutions only when the benefiting enterprise repays each due installment, from which the guaranteed amount is deducted.

Article 8: To enable benefiting enterprises to recover amounts paid as interest or profit margins related to installments due before obtaining the guarantee grant decision, the bank/financial institution must submit a request to the Central Bank of Tunisia from the concerned enterprise confirming that it has paid these amounts according to the statement in Annex 1 of this circular. The due amounts, within the scope of the aforementioned guarantee benefit, are disbursed to the bank/financial institution, which transfers them to the concerned enterprise within 24 hours following the posting date in the accounts of the concerned banks/financial institutions.

Article 9: To enable benefiting enterprises to adjust their benefit from the guarantee in case of early repayment of one or more installments of investment loans/financing before the scheduled dates, the bank/financial institution must submit a file to the Central Bank of Tunisia containing an annex to the loan/financing contract and the updated repayment schedule.

Article 10: Throughout the repayment period and after the enterprise obtains the guarantee grant decision, amounts resulting from the state guarantee covering the difference between the margin on financing granted under Islamic banking operations and the interbank market interest rate cannot be disbursed if this difference exceeds 3.5%. In this case, banks/financial institutions must, in accordance with the fifth paragraph of Article 8 of Presidential Decree No. 536 of 2022 dated June 7, 2022 cited above, review this rate and notify the Central Bank of Tunisia and the committee established under Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 536 of 2022 without delay.

Article 11: Banks and financial institutions must notify the Central Bank of Tunisia whenever they observe any of the following situations:

• Recording of three consecutive unpaid installments from the loan/financing by the benefiting enterprise,
• Rescheduling of the guaranteed loans/financing or their undergoing financial restructuring,
• The bank/financial institution initiating a lawsuit for the repayment of the guaranteed loan/financing.

Article 12: Banks and financial institutions must declare to the information centralization monthly the investment loans/financing covered by this guarantee, according to the codes specified in Annex 2 of this circular.

Article 13: Banks and financial institutions must instruct their auditors to prepare an annual report on compliance with this circular, including a detailed statement of granted guarantee amounts by benefiting enterprises. This report is submitted to the Central Bank of Tunisia within three months from the end of each year.

Article 14: Banks and financial institutions must take appropriate measures to publicize the guarantee stipulated in the law on improving the investment climate and the conditions/procedures set forth in this circular.

Article 15: The provisions of Circular to Banks and Financial Institutions No. 04 of 2020 dated February 24, 2020 on determining the conditions and methods for disbursing amounts related to benefiting from the state guarantee covering the difference between the surplus margin of investment loans and the interbank market interest rate within three percentage points for loans granted to MSMEs are repealed.

Article 16: This circular enters into force from the date of its publication.

The Governor,
Marouane Abassi

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Annex 1 of Central Bank of Tunisia Circular No. 06 of 2022 dated August 9, 2022

Detailed Statement of Amounts Resulting from the State Guarantee Covering the Difference between the Margin Applied on Investment Loans and Financing and the Interbank Market Interest Rate within Three Percentage Points

State Guarantee Amount	Installment Amount Withdrawn as Interest or Profit Margin	Applied Margin	Applied Rate	Installment Repayment Date	Installment Due Date	Loan or Financing Amount	Legal Name of Benefiting Enterprise	Tax ID of Benefiting Enterprise	Reference of Guarantee Grant Decision	Total

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Annex 2 of Central Bank of Tunisia Circular No. 06 of 2022 dated August 9, 2022

Codes for Loan and Financing Categories Covered by the State Guarantee Covering the Difference between the Margin Applied on Investment Loans and Financing and the Interbank Market Interest Rate within Three Percentage Points

Code	Description
301	CMT bonifié 3% (Loi n° 2019 - 47)
901	CLT bonifié 3% (Loi n° 2019 - 47)
471	Leasing mobilier bonifié 3% (Loi n° 2019 - 47)
931	Leasing immobilier bonifié 3% (Loi n° 2019 - 47)