2merkato

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) announced that the banking sector would be opened to foreign banks on a gradual process as a mechanism to cope with the possible challenges the opening of the financial sector would bring. According to Solomon Desta, NBE’s Financial Institutions Supervision Deputy Governor, the gradual opening of the sector will provide Ethiopia with the opportunity to learn and gain enough experience while local banks raise competitive capacity.

Ethiopian banks have improved their positions in the 2025 Africa Business Top 100 African Banks Report, showing steady progress in the country’s financial sector. Six Ethiopian banks are included in this year’s list, up from five in 2024 and only two in 2022.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) was eyeing Djibouti to open branches in the country. The Ministry also revealed that Siinqee Bank and Abyssinia Bank were on the verge of opening their branches in Djibouti.

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.