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May 17 , 2026 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Dashen Bank Grows Bigger, Safer, But Not as Profitable

Dashen Bank entered the foreign-exchange reform year with a defensive proposition. It grew large enough to protect its market position, preserve liquidity, and push more customers out of costly branches and into digital channels. By June 2025, that proposition had worked in scale, but less convincin...

May 9 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE

Siinqee Bank Turns Microfinance Roots into Banking Momentum

Siinqee Bank's performance in its latest year reads like the arrival notice of a four-year-old commercial bank. Born from microfinance and transformed into commercial banking in April 2022, it ended the 2024/25 financial year in the upper tier of the domestic banking industry. According to Tolessa Gedefa, chairperson of the Board, it was a year of “significant milestones.” “Despite being a relatively new entrant in the banking sector, the Bank outperformed many established private commercial banks in the country,” he said. Founding President Neway Megersa echoed the sentime...

May 3 , 2026 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Siket Bank’s Costly Coming of Age Leaves its Under Pressure

Siket Bank ended the last financial year larger, carrying the costs of becoming a commercial bank. It crossed from microfinance in June 2025, a formal shift that changed its balance sheet and income statement. The financial institution became better capitalised, more visible and ambitious, yet it closed the year less profitable. Its books tell a story of expansion, but also of the price paid for moving from a credit outfit, Addis Credit & Saving S.C. (ACS), into a regulated commercial bank. For an institution that had been operating as a microfinance outfit only three years earlier,...

Apr 26 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE

Amhara Bank Survives Rough Waves Yet to Outrun Risks

Amhara Bank's accounts for the last year tell a recovery story edged with warning. The Bank closed the 2024/25 financial year larger, better capitalised and back in profit after a concerning opening quarter, yet its figures showed a financial institution still trying to turn scale into durable earnings. The Bank expanded its balance sheet, rebuilt confidence, and reversed heavy losses, but remained burdened by a costly branch-and-payroll structure, weak productivity, and credit-risk signals that warrant a closer look. For shareholders, the year brought neither collapse nor vindication. It m...

News analysis

Apr 19 , 2026

Shabelle Bank Expands Fast While Staying Small

Shabelle Bank spent the past year doing what many young banks try to do first. It tried to grow bigger and faster. Its executives called the year one of “consolidation and transformation,” and...

Apr 10 , 2026

Gadaa Bank’s Sprint to Scale Leaves the Real Test Still to Come

Gadaa Bank's latest year was impressive, but not yet the performance of a fully scaled earnings machine. It was the performance of a fast-growing, well-capitalised, highly liquid bank that built the b...

Apr 5 , 2026

At Enat Bank, Fast Growth Meets a Harder Reckoning

Yifru Tesfaye watched a small team move a heavy flow of money through Enat Bank's branch near Piassa, where 10 employees serve around 50 customers a day and have already exceeded their deposit target...

Mar 21 , 2026

Bunna Bank Finds Its Way Back to Growth, With Strains Close Behind

Set against Bunna Bank's five-year history, the last financial year looked less like a routine reporting period and more like a turning point for a lender that had come through a difficult year. It wa...

Mar 14 , 2026

Oromia Bank Sees Growth by Holding Back

Oromia Bank ended the last financial year looking less like a financial institution chasing scale and more like one restoring banking discipline. Yet the numbers tell a more measured story. It was...

Mar 7 , 2026

ZamZam Bank Turns a Corner But Toughest Test Lies Ahead

ZamZam Bank's last financial year looked less like another episode of rapid balance-sheet expansion than a referendum on whether the country's first fully fledged Sharia-compliant bank can turn a pion...

Feb 21 , 2026

Hit by Forex Reform Shock, Strategic Reset Under Way at Hibret Bank

Hibret Bank's last financial year is a paradox of scale without reward. By conventional measures of banking growth, the year looked strong. The balance sheet expanded, revenues expanded, and customer...

Feb 15 , 2026

Awash Bank Wins Big in New Era's Tough Money

Awash Bank likes to cast itself as the jewel of the domestic private banking industry. On the numbers it filed for the 2024/25 financial year, that claim reads less like marketing and more like a test...

Feb 8 , 2026

Sidama Bank Chases Growth from Promise to Precarity

Sidama Bank has evolved beyond its microfinance legacy at an impressive rate, posting results that demonstrate a canny management team and a forgiving expansion phase in the increasingly competitive b...

Jan 31 , 2026

Hijira Bank Flushes With Cash in a Market Starved of Credit

Hijra Bank closed the last financial year with numbers that would flatter any young lender, with profits multiplied, deposits surged, and capital buffers thickened. However, beneath the headline gr...

Jan 24 , 2026

Ahadu Bank Profits Signal Resilience But Capital Falls Short

Ahadu Bank closed its most recent financial year not by pursuing breakneck growth, but by focusing on the fundamentals of survival. While its strong earnings, healthy deposit inflows, and solid asset...

Jan 10 , 2026

Coop Bank Rides Liquidity Wave as Deposit Growth Outpaces Competitors

For the Cooperative Bank of Oromia (Coop Bank), the 2024/25 financial year was defined less by distress than by imbalance. The Bank emerged with one of the strongest liquidity positions in the private...

Jan 4 , 2026

Abay Bank Surges on Currency Gains, Rapid Growth

Abay Bank marked its 15th year in the banking industry with what analysts characterised as a breakout performance, setting new records in profitability, liquidity, and shareholder returns. This not...

Dec 27 , 2025

Berhan Bank Outpaces Peers with Measured Gains, Old-School Banking

Berhan Bank's most recent financial year marked a decisive turn for mid-sized private banks. The Bank's performance over the 2024/25 financial year was one of strategic expansion, diversified income s...

Dec 20 , 2025

Nib Bank Reels from Currency Shock as Losses Mount, Shareholders' Pressure Grows

In an ordinary period, a year that closes with a multi-billion-Birr loss is usually read as a judgment on management. However, last year was more often a judgment on macroeconomics. Set against indust...

Dec 13 , 2025

Abyssinia Bank Flexes Muscle Fighting for a Seat at the Top

The Bank of Abyssinia (BoA) has crossed a crucial performance threshold for the 2024/25 financial year. Its balance sheet expanded sharply, deposits climbed despite tight monetary conditions, and lend...

Columns

Commentaries | May 23,2026

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has spent weeks in Addis Abeba conducting the fi...

Editorial | May 23 , 2026

Betrothal Ritual Falls Prey to the Event Economy

When Abigiya Tewodros sat for her traditional bethrothal intercession, locally known as "S...

Featured | May 17 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

For Helen Mekonnen, 45, bread has become the measure of how far a household income can str...

Agenda | May 23 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU

ADDIS ABEBA Tries to Redraw Its Future Without Awakening Old Ghosts

Addis Abeba's most contested planning document is entering its final year, carrying the le...

Fortune News | May 23 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE

Dashen Bank Grows Bigger, Safer, But Not as Profitable

Siinqee Bank Turns Microfinance Roots into Banking Momentum

Siket Bank’s Costly Coming of Age Leaves its Under Pressure

Amhara Bank Survives Rough Waves Yet to Outrun Risks

News analysis

Shabelle Bank Expands Fast While Staying Small

Gadaa Bank’s Sprint to Scale Leaves the Real Test Still to Come

At Enat Bank, Fast Growth Meets a Harder Reckoning

Bunna Bank Finds Its Way Back to Growth, With Strains Close Behind

Oromia Bank Sees Growth by Holding Back

ZamZam Bank Turns a Corner But Toughest Test Lies Ahead

Hit by Forex Reform Shock, Strategic Reset Under Way at Hibret Bank

Awash Bank Wins Big in New Era's Tough Money

Sidama Bank Chases Growth from Promise to Precarity

Hijira Bank Flushes With Cash in a Market Starved of Credit

Ahadu Bank Profits Signal Resilience But Capital Falls Short

Coop Bank Rides Liquidity Wave as Deposit Growth Outpaces Competitors

Abay Bank Surges on Currency Gains, Rapid Growth

Berhan Bank Outpaces Peers with Measured Gains, Old-School Banking

Nib Bank Reels from Currency Shock as Losses Mount, Shareholders' Pressure Grows

Abyssinia Bank Flexes Muscle Fighting for a Seat at the Top

Most read

Columns

Red Gold Makes the Case for Smarter Agri Business Strategy

When Problem-Solving Fails Because the Shape Looks Different

Global Water Cycle Critical Shared Infrastructure

A Ball, A Father, A Life-time of Memory

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

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Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

Betrothal Ritual Falls Prey to the Event Economy

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

ADDIS ABEBA Tries to Redraw Its Future Without Awakening Old Ghosts

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COVID UPDATE

Dashen Bank Grows Bigger, Safer, But Not as Profitable

Siinqee Bank Turns Microfinance Roots into Banking Momentum

Siket Bank’s Costly Coming of Age Leaves its Under Pressure

Amhara Bank Survives Rough Waves Yet to Outrun Risks

Shabelle Bank Expands Fast While Staying Small

Gadaa Bank’s Sprint to Scale Leaves the Real Test Still to Come

At Enat Bank, Fast Growth Meets a Harder Reckoning

Bunna Bank Finds Its Way Back to Growth, With Strains Close Behind

Oromia Bank Sees Growth by Holding Back

ZamZam Bank Turns a Corner But Toughest Test Lies Ahead

Hit by Forex Reform Shock, Strategic Reset Under Way at Hibret Bank

Awash Bank Wins Big in New Era's Tough Money

Sidama Bank Chases Growth from Promise to Precarity

Hijira Bank Flushes With Cash in a Market Starved of Credit

Ahadu Bank Profits Signal Resilience But Capital Falls Short

Coop Bank Rides Liquidity Wave as Deposit Growth Outpaces Competitors

Abay Bank Surges on Currency Gains, Rapid Growth

Berhan Bank Outpaces Peers with Measured Gains, Old-School Banking

Nib Bank Reels from Currency Shock as Losses Mount, Shareholders' Pressure Grows

Abyssinia Bank Flexes Muscle Fighting for a Seat at the Top

Red Gold Makes the Case for Smarter Agri Business Strategy

When Problem-Solving Fails Because the Shape Looks Different

Global Water Cycle Critical Shared Infrastructure

A Ball, A Father, A Life-time of Memory

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

Betrothal Ritual Falls Prey to the Event Economy

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

ADDIS ABEBA Tries to Redraw Its Future Without Awakening Old Ghosts

Drop us a message

COVID UPDATE

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