The board of directors of Nib International Bank removed Kibru Fondja, its president ,and his deputy, Gashawtena Amdetsion, last Friday, January 8, 2019.
The board then appointed Genene Ruga, vice president of operations, to replace Kibru. Leulseged Negussie, director of risk and compliance was promoted to vice president of strategic support & modernization replacing Gashawtena, while Seifu Ageda, director of the credit appraisal department, moved to be vice presidentof operations, taking the helm from Genene.
The appointment of the three new executives requires approval from the National Bank of Ethiopia, the regulatory bank.
The two senior executives were retired, according to a source close to the case.
However, Kibru said he was not informed about the board's decision and did not receive any letter from the Bank about his removal.
"The reshuffle was expected," Kibru told Fortune." Kibru has a diploma in plant science and technology, a BA degree in economics from Addis Abeba University and a master’s degree in economic policy management from a Ghanaian university. He has served Nib as president and vice president over his nine years at the Bank.
Before joining Nib, the 60-year-old banker worked for the Development Bank of Ethiopia as central regional operations manager working across 12 different branches and as department manager of branch operations in a career that spanned 24 years.
His incumbent Genene joined Nib in 2015 as vice president for operations after he was relieved of his post at the Development Bank, where he served for seven years as vice president.
Genene holds a BA degree from Haromaya University in agricultural economics and a master’s degree in business administration, specialising in finance management from Indira Gandhi National Open University. He also has two post-graduate diplomas in management and financial management. He worked at Development Bank for 28 years, rising from a junior loan officer to a branch manager to a regional manager before he became vice president of corporate services.
Under the tenure of Kibru, the total assets of Nib, established in 1999 as the sixth bank with 27.6 million Br in capital and 717 shareholders, has extended to 26.69 billion Br. Nib has also mobilised deposits of 21.62 billion Br and disbursed loans and advances totaling 13.5 billion Br in last fiscal year.
Last year, Nib invested 680 million Br in acquiring a building in Arat Kilo. It is also constructing a 12-storey building in Hawassa and a five-storey building in Hosana along with its headquarters building in the Financial District in Lideta.
Another private bank, Wegagen Bank, has changed its president, bringing Abay Mehari, a former Chief Credit Officer at the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to the helm replacing Areya G. Egziyabher, the bank's long-serving chief. Abay's appointment was confirmed by the National Bank of Ethiopia two weeks ago.
Abay, who holds both an undergraduate degree from Addis Abeba University and a graduate degree from the University of Greenwich, is the fourth president since the establishment of Wegagen. Kidane Nikodimos and Hadgu Hailu were his predecessors.
His immediate predecessor, Araya, has served the Bank as president for the past 13 years, during which the Bank ranked fourth in profits in the private banking industry. Under Areya's watch, Wegagen grew its capital to 2.8 billion Br from 30 million Br registered at its establishment in 1997. Its total assets climbed to 21.1 billion Br, and deposit mobilisation was at 15.5 billion Br.
This made Wegagen the nation's largest private bank next to Awash, Dashen and Abyssinia. Wegagen operates 213 branches across the country and has a workforce of 3,600 employees.
Theodros Haile, board secretary of Nib, declined to comment on the issue.
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