IslamicFinance.de

The sale of Zitouna bank and Takaful continues and is expected to end in July 2018, by which time we should know the identity of the final buyer. The bank had posted a net banking income of 101.748 MD, an operating profit of 19.411 MD and a net profit of 12.630 MD at the end of the 2016. For its part, the Zitouna Takaful posted a net profit of 2.490 MD in the same year. The company will have more than doubled its result compared to 1.054 MD in 2015. This, in connection with the high level of imports which have been on an upward trend in recent years, reaching 12.8 billion dinars in 2017.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has decided to sell its 21% share in Zitouna Bank’s capital. The origin of this decision is supposedly a disagreement of specifications. The withdrawal could benefit Triki Group, which could disburse 80-90 million Tunisian dinars for this acquisition. IDB entered in Zitouna Bank’s capital in 2014, with TND37.5 million. Since its inception in 2009, Zitouna Bank has become a leading Islamic financial instituion in the local market.

The sale of Zitouna Bank, which was launched on December 5 by state holding company Al Karama, could be quickly scuttled by the investment banks and other groups which had been hoping to get involved in this major operation.