Best bank: BIAT
BIAT outperformed its peers in 2025, strengthening its market position despite a constrained macroeconomic environment. The bank managed to grow its deposit base by 7.1% year-on-year to over TND22.2 billion ($7.6 billion), consolidating a leading position in deposit gathering.
In terms of credit extension, BIAT has positioned itself at the centre of the productive economy. More than 60% of loans are directed towards SMEs and corporate clients, underscoring the bank’s importance in business financing in the market, as well as the value of long-term relationship development with corporate clients.
These relationships extend beyond conventional lending with engagement via BIAT Capital Risk, the bank’s venture capital subsidiary, which invests directly in SME equity opportunities. In a market where many SMEs are family-owned and may need more flexible forms of support than standard bank debt alone, this broader approach strengthens the proposition, with BIAT positioning itself as a financial partner rather than simply a lender.
Additionally, BIAT has pursued a multi-year transformation programme around its digital capabilities. The bank has focussed on digitalising the customer journey and building foundational platforms; and in 2025 it continued to enhance both its retail and corporate banking systems through a structured release roadmap.
Enhancements to the corporate trade finance platform indicate investment in areas where clients have significant operational expectations and where digital execution can materially improve service quality.
Customer experience has been prioritised throughout. There has been a shift away from isolated quality initiatives toward a permanent, bank-wide service framework that spans retail, corporate and branch operations. The bank’s branch strategy aims to move staff away from routine processing and toward advisory and expertise-led roles, supported by self-service branches and more modern formats.
The result is an integrated model in which digital channels improve efficiency while branches increasingly focus on higher value customer engagement.
