Fourteen private banks currently in operation in Ethiopia have been able to make more than 3.5 billion birr in gross profit in the just ended financial year in spite of challenges associated with the measures imposed on the lending ability of private banks by NBE.
The largest portion of the profits went to Dashen Bank which earned 896.5 million birr in gross profits for the 2011-12 budget year which is nearly double the 451 million birr net profit it registered in the previous fiscal year.
Awash International Bank grossed 543 million birr coming in second making it one of the only two banks to earn more than half a billion birr in gross profit in the last financial year. It is to be remembered that Awash registered 505.5 million birr in the previous financial year.
Wegagen came in third grossing more than 415 million birr, which is more than 100 million more than profits last fiscal year and United trails Wegagen by just 3 million birr earning 412 million birr in gross profit.United Bank follows the footsteps of Wegagen trailing by three million birr. It holds the fourth position in the list of top five banks, grossing an impressive 412 million birr gross profit.
Nib International Bank comes in the fifth position earning 389.8 million birr in gross profit which is more than the 334 million birr it earned in the last fiscal year.
The cumulative earnings of the 14 private banks, however, still remains below fifty percent of the 7.9 billion birr grossed by the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
Source: Capital
