Lion’s Last Roar Echoes to a Spark

.

After nearly 19 years operating as Lion International Bank, Anbesa Bank has chosen to start again, symbolically, at least. The decision to abandon both “International” and the "Lion" in favour of a singular “Anbesa,” paired with a minimalist golden spark logo and a new motto — “Let’s Go for It” — was presented by the Bank’s senior executives as a strategic reset.

The rebranding ended the Bank’s extended use of the iconic roaring lion emblem, replacing it with a subdued golden spark as its new logo. Instead of relying on the physical image of a lion, the new branding tries to capture the animal’s qualities and character, according to Melaku Beharu, founder and Chief Executive of Berry Advertising, the company which developed the rebrand.

“The new identity supports a more engaging and user-friendly digital banking experience and can be easily used across social media and digital platforms,” he told Fortune.

Berry Advertising has worked in the domestic branding industry for about 13 years. It has previously overseen rebranding campaigns for various banks, including Buna, Addis, Global, and Siinqee, as well as government institutions such as the Ministry of Health and the Tourism Trading Enterprise.

The rebranding project, has also introduced a new motto, moving from “Key to Success.”

Incorporated in 2007, Anbesa Bank unveiled its new identity at an event held at the Adwa Museum on Thursday, January 29, 2026. According to Endalish W. Michael, vice president for Strategy & Innovation, the overhaul was part of a broader three-year strategic plan. She disclosed that the new identity is designed to respond to "regulatory changes, economic conditions, and advances in technology."

“We dare to start again, and to give our customers a reason to start as well,” Endalish, who has been with the Bank for nearly 11 years, with a total of 19 years in the banking industry, told Fortune.

The Bank's executives attributed the change to a surge in digital banking. About five years ago, the Bank’s first mobile banking app was built by local companies and quickly attracted close to one million users. Today, Anbesa Bank has more than one million mobile banking users, with nearly 30pc of transactions occurring on mobile platforms.

According to Hiruy Zemichael, vice president for Information Technology, the old application could no longer meet customer needs or keep up with industry standards. The Bank now aims for 90pc of transactions to be conducted digitally, especially among retail customers. It has launched a new mobile banking application, Anbesa Plus, during the rebranding event. The app was developed by Sopra Banking Software, a Paris-based company that also supplies the Bank’s core banking system.

The new app allows customers to open accounts remotely, pay bills online, and manage their cards digitally, including freezing or deactivating them.

"Moving customers over to the new platform will take time and require a coordinated communications and marketing effort," Hiruy told Fortune.

The Bank’s leadership sees the rebranding as more than a marketing refresh. According to Endalish, the process lasted five months and was meant to reposition the Bank and change how it delivers services, with a renewed focus on helping customers achieve their goals. She disclosed that the Bank had revised its mission, purpose, and vision statements to match this new direction.

The change is also part of a larger effort to recover from challenges caused by recent conflict, which hit the Bank’s reputation, assets, and loan portfolio. A large portion of Anbesa Bank’s branches and customers are located in northern Ethiopia, an area hard-hit by instability in recent years.

“We take the characteristics of a lion, especially its courage, from the name,” Endalish told Fortune.

Anbesa Bank closed December 2025 with 46.3 billion Br in total deposits, one of the four smallest balances in a 17-bank peer set and a mere 2.1pc of the private banking average deposit stock. Its deposit mix leans heavily on retail savings, 72pc of total deposits, while demand deposits account for 13pc. This profile is at odds with the industry's more transactional funding leaders, where demand deposits, driven by payrolls and business flows, anchor lower-cost, “sticky” funding.

In an industry where averages are skewed by a handful of deposit-rich giants, such as Awash, Abyssinia and Dashen banks, Anbesa sat below average and median, revealing structural underperformance. In the domestic banking defined by a liquidity crunch and the looming challenge of capital market liberalisation, relative underperformance in deposit mobilisation is more than a neutral outcome. It translates into reduced lending capacity, weaker franchise value, and growing vulnerability in the contest for marginal liquidity.

With 365 branches, Anbesa Bank’s physical reach is not in doubt. Yet its deposits per branch, 126.9 million Br, lagged the industry's average by a wide margin. Some banks with smaller footprints extracted far more funding per outlet, revealing Anbesa Bank’s network is under-monetised.

Anbesa Bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio was 1.01, with loans marginally exceeding deposits. While not yet alarming, this “loan-led” funding profile is risky in a liquidity-constrained system, especially as deposit growth stalls.

For Melaku, the project with Anbesa was rooted in "extensive research" and closely aligned with the Bank’s strategic vision.

“The new logo was designed to convey a premium and elegant feel while remaining accessible,” he said.

Not everyone is convinced the rebranding will go smoothly. Shewandagne Tessema, a brand consultant, called Anbesa Bank's move "sudden" and argued that its previous logo, used for close to two decades, held significant brand equity. He cautioned that dropping it could weaken the Bank’s core identity.

“Even if the old logo was not suitable for digital platforms, it could have been adapted without changing its fundamental elements,” Shewandagne said. “Rebranding should preserve a company’s essence.”

He also feared that the new logo might confuse customers, who often recognise brands mainly by shape and colour. He urged institutions to focus on improving their operations, not merely their visual identity.

However, Daniel Tekeste, the Bank’s fifth president since its founding, characterised the rebranding as "a new beginning" for Anbesa Bank.

The rebranding comes at a time of major changes for the domestic banking industry, which is undergoing regulatory reforms and seeing increased competition, particularly in digital banking. According to Daniel, Anbesa Bank’s strategy is to reposition itself as a forward-looking institution prepared to compete in this new environment. The Bank hopes the new name, logo, and digital platforms will attract new customers and enhance services for its existing base.

PUBLISHED ON [ VOL , NO ]