Tunisian Parliament Considers Postal Bank to Combat Financial Exclusion
The Finance Committee at the Assembly of People's Representatives has heard from promoters of a bill to create a bank backed by the postal network. This is a concrete response to financial exclusion, which still affects many Tunisians, especially in underserved interior regions.
Why Bet on La Poste?
The postal network is everywhere, even where bank branches are lacking. The idea is to turn it into a tool for savings, microcredits, and financial support, targeting farmers, artisans, and small projects. This would boost the local economy, reduce the informal economy, and strengthen social justice, without disrupting banking competition.
Priorities
The focus is on microcredits to stimulate the autonomy of households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the interior of the country. However, deputies insist that a solid capital base (without burdening public finances), guarantees for loans, rigorous monitoring, and coordination with existing microfinance institutions are necessary. There is no question of lending without a safety net!
Challenges Raised
- Finances and Infrastructure: How to finance all this? Modernizing offices, training staff, and securing banking operations?
- Digital: The project lacks a digital vision; a mobile app or virtual bank will be needed to keep up with the tech wave.
- Regulation: Adapted interest rates, but within a strict framework supervised by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT).
Flexibility and Next Steps
The promoters are flexible: transforming La Poste into a full-fledged bank, gradually expanding it, or merging it with the old anti-exclusion project. The committee will continue with hearings (BCT, ministries) and a working group to refine the text. Field monitoring and credit control will be implemented. This project could revolutionize financial inclusion in Tunisia, balancing social ambition with budgetary realism.
