The outstanding loans to the economy saw a 7.6% uptick in 2022, compared to 5.6% the previous year, as reported by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) in its annual report on Banking Supervision for the 2022 fiscal year, released on Friday. According to the BCT, this upward trend was propelled by an 8.8% rise in loans to professionals, compared to 6.1% the previous year, coupled with a boost in loans to individuals. A surge of 28.7% in funding granted to public enterprises in 2022 The progress rate in professional loans is primarily explained by the substantial increase in funding to public enterprises, reaching 28.7%. Loans to private professionals also saw an uptick of 8.7%, compared to 4.5% in 2021. This increase encompassed operating loans in the form of commercial discounts, as well as overdrafts linked to the worsening liquidity problems faced by economic operators due to the economic situation. According to the BCT, the sectoral distribution of outstanding loans to professionals reveals a consolida tion of the industrial sector's share, rising to 44%, at the expense of the services sector, whose share dropped to 52%. The share of the agriculture and fisheries sector has remained stable at 4%. As for loans granted to individuals, they recorded a 4.3% increase, compared to 4.1% in 2021, a level well below the nominal GDP growth rate, according to the BCT. "The deterioration of purchasing power and the rise in interest rates have significantly impacted households' ability to access bank financing." This sluggish dynamic affected housing loans (+4% compared to +2.8% in 2021) and consumer loans (+4.6% compared to +5.3% in 2021). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse