Melaku Kebede Retires from Hibret Bank

Melaku Kebede, the fifth president of Hibret Bank, is stepping down after two decades of career in the company. Following a tenure of nearly four years as the head of one of the pioneer private banks, he announced his departure this week, marking the finale of a chapter in his professional life.

Melaku is an alumnus of Addis Abeba University and has been a figure in the banking industry over the past two decades. Before assuming senior executive position at Hibret Bank, he served as vice president at Zemen and Hibret banks. His legacy includes the launch of multi-channel banking services, interest-free banking, and the Broadband Local Money Transfer (BLMT) system. He led the establishment of EthSwitch, the national payment system incorporated by almost all the commercial banks, and the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), contributing to the development of the national cybersecurity framework for financial institutions.

As President of Hibret Bank, Melaku oversaw the integratation of technology early on, with an ambitious in-house upgrade. Hibret Bank also formed a partnership with other commercial banks to broaden e-commerce options. It integrated digital money transaction services with M-Pesa's mobile money service, which enhanced operations within its 475 branches. Hibret invested 50 million Br in equity in the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX).

Melaku’s tenure followed a brief period as acting president after his predecessor, Taye Dibekulu, resigned in late 2019. Taye had served for six years following the terms of Berhanu Getaneh, Admassu Techane, and Kebede Temesgen.

Hibret Bank posted last year record earnings, seeing its net profit surge to 2.29 billion Br, more than double from the previous year. This helped the bank, incorporated 26 years ago, to ramp earnings per share to 50.7 Br. The Bank's total assets reached 82.58 billion Br, with deposits totaling 64.54 billion Br and loans disbursed amounting to 60.18 billion Br. Its paid capital rose to 4.78 billion Br, approaching the five billion minimum threshold set by the NBE for 2026. Total revenues for the year increased by around 27pc, peaking at 10.32 billion Br, and foreign currency gains amounted to 247.8 million dollars.

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