Non-Professional Bank Loans in Tunisia
The outstanding amount of non-professional bank loans granted by Tunisian commercial banks to individuals reached 30 billion and 404 million dinars (MD) at the end of September this year, compared to 30 billion and 36 million dinars at the end of December 2024, representing a slight increase of 368 million dinars.
Breakdown of Loan Distribution by Sector
According to data from the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), the distribution of outstanding loans by sector is as follows:
- Housing Loans: 13 billion and 328 million dinars at the end of the first nine months of 2025, compared to 13 billion and 545 million dinars at the end of December 2024, representing a decrease of 217 million dinars, or a 25% decline.
- Housing Improvement Loans: The outstanding amount reached 11 billion and 317 million dinars at the end of September this year, compared to 10 billion and 953 million dinars for the same period in 2024, representing an increase of 364 million dinars.
- Consumer Loans: BCT data shows that they reached 5 billion and 312 million dinars at the end of the ninth month of this year, compared to 5 billion and 109 million dinars at the end of December last year, representing a slight growth of only 203 million dinars.
- Car Loans: The outstanding amount rose to 430.3 million dinars at the end of September 2025, compared to 413.8 million dinars at the end of the previous year, representing an increase of 16.5 MD.
- University Loans (Students): The outstanding amount reached 14 million and 955 thousand dinars at the end of June last year, compared to 14 million and 941 thousand dinars at the end of the previous year, representing a decrease of 14 thousand dinars.
Decline in Housing Loans
Commenting on these indicators, financial analyst Bassam Neifar stated that the outstanding amount of bank loans exceeded the threshold of 30 billion dinars for the first time since December 2024, noting that the outstanding amount of loans had recorded a decline in January 2025 before rising again to the threshold of 30 billion dinars.
Neifar indicated that the outstanding amount of bank loans for housing decreased, from approximately 13.5 billion dinars at the end of December 2024 to 13.328 billion dinars at the end of September this year. However, he specified that in comparison between September 2024 and December 2023, there was an increase in the outstanding amount of this category of loans of 66.2 million dinars.
Presidential Interest in the Housing Sector
It is worth noting that the President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, has repeatedly called for greater attention to be paid to the housing sector and for help to be provided to Tunisians to access bank loans, particularly by enabling a large category of citizens to obtain housing at affordable prices.
In this regard, the head of state recommended a return to the lease-purchase mechanism as a solution to help Tunisians become homeowners.
Need to Develop the Real Estate Sector Further
On the other hand, Bassam Neifar noted that it is necessary to verify the issue of housing savings, which reached 1716.5 million dinars at the end of September 2025, compared to 1772.9 million dinars at the end of December last year. He emphasized that housing savings are declining, stressing the need to sound the alarm for the real estate sector in Tunisia.
Strong Demand for Housing Improvement Loans
Regarding other categories of loans, the financial analyst affirmed that housing improvement loans have relatively improved, but are often diverted to other purposes and are not necessarily used for housing improvement.
He emphasized that housing improvement loans are in high demand and that the pace has increased during the period between September 2024 and the end of December 2023, by 142.7 million dinars, noting that housing improvement loans are often redirected towards daily consumption.
Neifar concluded that bank loans for consumption and housing improvement can be explicitly categorized as general consumer loans. They increased together by 568.2 million dinars in September 2025 compared to December 2024, compared to an increase of 330.7 MD over the entire year of 2024.
Therefore, the demand for this type of loan has increased to cover daily expenses, which is also due to the fact that citizens are no longer applying for housing loans.
