{"id":49677,"date":"2026-03-14T12:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T09:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/?p=49677"},"modified":"2026-03-14T12:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T09:06:15","slug":"official-response-and-rebuttal-to-bank-capture-the-troubling-phenomenon-festering-beneath-the-industrys-shiny-veneer-published-on-the-reporter-on-march-7-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/49677\/","title":{"rendered":"Official Response and Rebuttal to \u201cBank Capture: The Troubling Phenomenon Festering Beneath the Industry\u2019s Shiny Veneer\u201d Published on The Reporter on March 7, 2026."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Amhara Bank Affirms Financial Strength, Operational Stability, and Continued Growth <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank S.C. affirmed its strong financial position, operational stability ,and continued commitment to maintaining competitiveness in Ethiopia\u2019s banking sector.<\/p>\n<p>The bank would like to assure its shareholders, customers, regulators, and the general public that it continues to operate in a financially sound and stable manner, fully complying with the prudential regulations and supervisory guidelines issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia.<\/p>\n<p>All banking operations and services are conducted in accordance with established banking standards, risk management frameworks, and regulatory requirements.<\/p>\n<p>In light of recent inaccurate and misleading median reports, Amhara Bank considers it important to present verified information regarding the Bank\u2019s current operational performance, governance standards, and financial position.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Financial Performance and Key Operational Indicators<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to the Bank\u2019s first eight-month performance report for the 2025\/26 fiscal year, Amhara Bank continues to demonstrate solid financial and operational performance.<\/p>\n<p>Key indicators include:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Profit: <\/strong>The Bank recorded a profit before tax of ETB 1.82 billion during the first eight months of the 2025\/26 fiscal year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Total Assets:<\/strong> The Bank\u2019s total assets have reached ETB 52.76 billion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Deposits:<\/strong> Total deposits stood at ETB 37.9 billion as of February 28, 2026, reflecting growing public confidence in the Bank.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Loan Portfolio Quality<\/strong>: The Bank has successfully reduced its Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio to 4.9 percent, which is within acceptable regulatory and industry standards.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Loan Recovery:<\/strong> Over the past eight months alone, the Bank has recovered more than ETB 9.9 billion from loans through strengthened monitoring and recovery systems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Digital Micro lending: <\/strong>\u00a0The Bank has disbursed more than ETB 5.1 billion through digital micro lending services, benefiting over 240,000 customers, with approximately 90 percent of borrowers being women.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mobile Banking Services:<\/strong> Customers are currently able to transfer up to ETB 1 million through mobile banking, reflecting continued progress in digital banking services.<\/p>\n<p>These indicators demonstrate the Bank\u2019s commitment to prudent financial management, responsible lending practices, and sustainable growth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Asset Quality, Risk Management, and Regulatory Compliance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank Continues to maintain strong credit risk management and asset quality standards.<\/p>\n<p>The Bank\u2019s loan portfolio and credit exposure remain fully compliant with prudential regulations issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia.<\/p>\n<p>Lending to individual borrowers remains below the regulatory single-borrowers limit of 25 percent, ensuring sound credit risk management.<\/p>\n<p>Internal loan monitoring, processing, and recovery systems have been significantly strengthened to ensure portfolio quality and sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Risk management and internal control systems continue to be enhanced to support responsible and sustainable lending practices.<\/p>\n<p>These measures ensure that the Bank operates within strong governance and risk management frameworks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strategic Reforms and Institutional Development <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank is currently implementing a five-year strategic plan aimed at strengthening operational efficiency, expanding financial services, and ensuring long-term institutional sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Key initiatives include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Implementation of a new organizational structure designed to improve operational efficiency.<\/li>\n<li>Introduction of a new salary scale and staff incentive structure effective March 1, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Expansion of wealth management and deposit mobilization programs.<\/li>\n<li>Continued modernization of service delivery system and internal monitoring frameworks.<\/li>\n<li>These strategic reforms are designed to strengthen the Bank\u2019s competitiveness and improve service delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Deposit Growth and Shareholder Value<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bank continues to experience encouraging growth in deposit mobilization, reflecting increasing public trust.<\/p>\n<p>Total deposits reached ETB 37.9 billion as of February 28, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Based on its 2024\/25 financial performance, the Bank has also distributed dividends to shareholders, demonstrating its commitment to creating sustainable shareholder value.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Institutional Progress Since Establishment <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since commencing operations in June 2022, Amhara Bank has made substantial progress in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Expanding banking services across the country<\/li>\n<li>Strengthening governance and internal control systems<\/li>\n<li>Building a sustainable financial foundation<\/li>\n<li>Expanding digital financial services and financial inclusion initiatives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Commitment of Transparency and Responsible Communications <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank recognizes the important role of the media in promoting transparency, accountability, and informed public discourse within the financial sector.<\/p>\n<p>However, reporting on financial institutions should be based on verified facts, audited financial reports, and findings of regulatory authorities.<\/p>\n<p>The Bank encourages all stakeholders and media institutions to rely on official financial disclosures and regulatory statements issued by the National bank of Ethiopia when communicating information related to financial institutions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Commitment to Stability and Long-Term Growth<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank reaffirms that it remains a financially stable institution focused on long-term growth and responsible banking practices.<\/p>\n<p>The Board of Directors and Management remain fully committed to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Protecting shareholder value<\/li>\n<li>Safeguarding customer deposits<\/li>\n<li>Maintaining strict regulatory compliance<\/li>\n<li>Strengthening institutional governance<\/li>\n<li>Supporting the development of Ethiopia\u2019s financial sector and broader economy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Appreciation to Stakeholders<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bank would like to express its sincere appreciation to customers, shareholders, employees, the National Bank of Ethiopia, business partners, and stakeholders for their continued trust and support.<\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank remains committed to operating transparently, responsibly, and in the best interests of its customers and stakeholders while continuing to contribute to Ethiopia\u2019s economic development.<\/p>\n<p>Eshete Yemata<\/p>\n<p>Acting CEO<\/p>\n<p>Amhara Bank<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amhara Bank Affirms Financial Strength, Operational Stability, and Continued Growth Amhara Bank S.C. affirmed its strong financial position, operational stability ,and continued commitment to maintaining competitiveness in Ethiopia\u2019s banking sector. The bank would like to assure its shareholders, customers, regulators, and the general public that it continues to operate in a financially sound and stable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1938],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-49677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-letter-to-the-editor"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}