Designed as a buffer, the overdraft often becomes in Tunisian companies a permanent, costly and revocable line of financing. Here is how to read signals, quantify the drift, and regain control of cash flows.
The most expensive short-term credit
For the second half of 2026, the effective overdraft rate is 12.29%, with a ceiling of 14.74%. Short-term credits outside overdrafts show 9.57%, with a ceiling of 11.48%.
The gap of 2.72 percentage points compensates for the flexibility offered by the bank and the risk it bears. It is also measured against the money market: the BCT kept its key rate at 7%, and the TMM stood at 7% in October 2026. The overdraft thus costs more than five percentage points above the market rate.
A numerical example illustrates the stakes. For a debtor company averaging 400,000 DT of debt throughout the year, the annual charge is about 49,160 DT at the average overdraft rate. The same balance, financed with classic short-term credit, would cost about 38,280 DT. The difference, 10,880 DT per year, is an editorial calculation based on these average rates.
Why does dependence set in?
The financing context pushes in that direction. The outstanding stock of credits to the economy approaches 123 billion dinars by the end of 2025, but the bulk of private sector credit growth comes from short term (+4.8%), while medium- and long-term lending falls by 0.5%.
Banks primarily finance working capital, much less investment. An analysis published by the economic press notes that short term represents nearly two-thirds of loans to private companies, almost all at variable rates indexed to the TMM, with systematic renewal of facilities.
The prudence of banks is explained by the quality of the portfolio. Classified exposures reach 14.9% of commitments at the end of 2025, and 20.8% for private companies, with a provision coverage of 51.6%. A banker exposed in this way willingly reduces the lines that are easiest to withdraw. The real danger is therefore not only the cost of the overdraft, but its non-renewal at the worst moment, when the operating cycle stretches.
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The signals of a structural drift
A healthy overdraft is temporary and responds to a precise mismatch between cash inflows and outflows. Several signals indicate it has become structural. The end-of-month balance never turns positive again. The number of cumulative overdraft days increases from one financial year to the next.
The overdraft finances outflows that do not belong to the operating cycle, such as an investment, tax and social security deadlines, or advances to partners. The company exceeds its authorization and endures heavier overrun conditions.
Finally, only one bank carries most of the line. When two or three of these signals accumulate, the question is no longer negotiating a rate but rethinking the financing scheme.
Regaining control of cash flows
The first step is to separate permanent need from seasonal need. The portion of the overdraft that is never absorbed is a working capital requirement to be financed by an appropriate instrument, such as a working capital finance loan, a campaign loan, or mid-term financing. The overdraft should cover only the unpredictable residual.
The second step is a rolling 13-week cash forecast. It cross-checks the calendar of client receipts with that of disbursements: salaries, suppliers, VAT, withholding taxes, social security contributions. It reveals the troughs before they occur.
The third step is to act on the underlying causes. One must shorten client payment terms, attach temporary needs to discounting or factoring, and renegotiate value dates and commissions. A controlled multi-banking approach, with interlocutors aware of the real situation, reduces the risk of a sudden withdrawal of a line.
Interest rate risk and overdraft
