"The Office des Céréales (OdC)'s debt vis-à-vis the Banque Nationale Agricole (BNA) reached a record level of TND 5.0 billion (3.8% of GDP) until June 30, or around 30% of the BNA's total balance sheet commitments," reads the World Bank's Fall 2023 Economic Monitor of Tunisia published Monday under the title "Migration amid Challenging Economic Context." "Commitments rose by 3.9% compared with the end of 2022 and by 12.3% compared with one year earlier". "The State guarantees the entirety of OdC's commitments against counterparty risk (comprising principal, interest, and commissions). At the same time the government is facing increasing difficulties to secure the necessary financing to OdC for the losses it incurs due to the cereal subsidies." The financing of the OdC has had a significant impact on BNA's cash position, with a negative balance of TND 5.1 billion at the end of June 2023, compared with TND 4.5 billion at the end of December 2022. "Along with the growing lending exposure to other SOEs, this has likely contributed to reduce BNA's lending to other parties. As BNA credit to OdC grew almost 4-fold between 2019 and June 2023, credit to private clients grew only 12 percent over the same period," according to the World Bank report.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse