Competition Market Study of Tunisia's Retail Banking Sector
This market study provides an assessment of competition in three broad areas of the retail banking sector in Tunisia: current accounts, bank loans for micro, small and medium enterprises and mobile payment services. The report identifies areas where competition is not working as well as it could, reducing customers mobility and access to finance and limiting the competitive pressure that fintech companies can exert on traditional banks. The report provides a range of recommendations to improve market outcomes for financial services users and it includes estimates of the expected impact of the implementation of the recommendations on the economy. This competition market study is part of a broader project aiming at fostering pro-competitive reforms in Tunisia.
Also available in: French
Introduction
Tunisians’ standard of living has improved and the country’s poverty rate has declined in recent decades. However, the COVID‑19 pandemic, and the economic crisis it ushered in, has deeply affected tourism, industrial activity and exports, and has had a severe impact on Tunisia’s economic and social fabric. As part of the European Union’s Programme d’Appui à la Gouvernance Economique, the OECD was invited in 2021 to conduct a market study and competition assessment of the country’s retail banking sector, jointly with the Competition Council. The programme has also included a Peer Review of Competition Law and Policy, published in 2022, and a Competition Assessment of the Tourism Sector, published in 2023. In 2019 the OECD conducted a competition assessment of wholesale and retail trade, and road and maritime transport. This chapter describes the services in the scope of the review and the approach and the sources used.
Also available in: French