FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Fortune Logo

Central Bank Orders Banks Freeze Loans

Aug 12 , 2021

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has ordered commercial banks to suspend all collateral-based loans, an unexpected measure communicated to executives through text message on August 11, 2021.

The suspension includes the disbursement of loans that have already been approved.

The text messages did not specify how long the suspension is to last. Neither are officials at the central bank forthcoming to explain the rationale behind their abrupt measure. The decision was made to curtail "economic sabotage," according to senior government officials.

Private commercial banks disbursed loans totalling 121.2 billion Br in the 2019/20 fiscal year while collecting 93 billion Br in repayment over the same period.

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.



Related Posts

Share This Post
Linkedin
Google+


Most read

Latest News

Editor's pick

Commentaries

Global Trade Is Winning Trump's War On It

Nearly six months after US President Donald Trump announced his ultra-high "reciproca...

Scaling Back Anti-Poverty Programmes a Colossal Policy Mistake

Faced with a slowing global economy and rising debts, many developing-country governm...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

In Climate Talks, Africa Mortgages Tomorrow Simply to Survive Today

Sep 13 , 2025

At its launch in Nairobi two years ago, the Africa Climate Summit was billed as the f...

Ethiopians Celebrate Big Dreams, While Everyday Realities Cast Shadow

Sep 6 , 2025

The dawn of a new year is more than a simple turning of the calendar. It is a moment...

Will Community Health Insurance Falter Under Its Ambitious Weight?

Aug 30 , 2025

For Germans, Otto von Bismarck is first remembered as the architect of a unified nati...

The Capital Market May Be Too Shallow to Swim In. Beware.

Aug 23 , 2025

Banks have a new obsession. After decades chasing deposits and, more recently, digita...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

The Horizon Ahead

Every Meskerem, as the Ethiopian New Year arrives, the script seems eerily familiar. We rewind the reel of the past twelve months, tot up th...

Beacon of Hope in the Heart of Singapore

When friends of my husband, Mike, and I left for what should have been a routine work trip to Malaysia, n...

Life Matters

Once a Song, Now a Powerhouse, The GERD Arrives

For generations, the dream of harnessing the Abay River has echoed across Ethiopia. It has been spoken of...

A Dose Too Fast

Stories of medical malpractice are unsettling, but they become harrowing when lived personally. What began for me as a trivial blister soon...