– Yohannes Ayalew Takes on Another Rescue Mission
Tseday Bank S.C. has appointed Yohannes Ayalew (PhD), a veteran macroeconomist turned banker, as its new president, pending approval from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE).
Yohannes previously served for nearly two decades as chief economist and vice governor of the NBE, a tenure that ended following Ethiopia’s political transition in 2018. He later headed the Policy Studies Institute, a government think tank, before being appointed president of the Development Bank of Ethiopia and subsequently Amhara Bank S.C. In both roles, he was credited with stabilizing institutions that were facing acute financial distress.
His move comes at a turbulent moment for the Bank. Tseday, which reported a loss of 2.1 billion birr in the 2024/25 financial year, is under pressure from higher regulatory capital requirements imposed by the central bank, as well as intensifying competition following Ethiopia’s decision to open its banking sector to foreign players.
Tseday Bank was formerly the Amhara Credit and Savings Institution (ACSI), one of Ethiopia’s largest microfinance institutions, founded in 1995. It transitioned into a commercial bank in 2022 under a hybrid model that allows it to serve both microfinance and conventional banking clients. Under the transformation arrangement, the Amhara Regional State holds a 30 percent ownership stake. The NBE has yet to issue detailed guidelines distinguishing microfinance operations from commercial banking activities under such structures.
The appointment follows the resignation last month of Mekonnen Yelewumwossen, the founding chief executive of both ACSI and Tseday Bank. Since his departure, the bank has been under the interim leadership of Yeshimebet Teferra, vice president for Risk and Compliance Management.
The board of directors, chaired by Derese Hailu (PhD), vice president of the Amhara Regional State, said the bank’s current challenges require experienced and decisive management, prompting the decision to appoint Yohannes.
Regulatory approval is expected in the coming weeks.
