The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has disbursed 264.65 billion birr in loans over the past eight months, significantly expanding its credit services and financial accessibility. Presenting the bank’s performance report to the Standing Committee on Government Enterprises Affairs in the House of Representatives, CBE President Abe Sano highlighted key developments, including the introduction of new loan types and a growing focus on digital lending.
Abe emphasized that 88.2 percent of the loans disbursed during the period were directed toward the private sector. As a result, the bank’s total loan portfolio has reached 1.39 trillion birr. To enhance access to credit, CBE has also been providing digital loans in collaboration with Ethio Telecom. In the last eight months alone, 3.9 billion birr in digital loans have been issued to 717,000 customers as of February 28, 2025.
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In a further effort to support entrepreneurship, CBE has finalized preparations to offer credit services to capable entrepreneurs, helping citizens launch and expand their businesses. The bank has also reaffirmed its commitment to fostering innovation by granting 10 million birr in loans—without collateral—to each of the five winners of the recent Ethiopian Television Entrepreneurship Competition. Additionally, CBE is piloting an initiative to make digital loan services even more accessible to the public.
CBE has reinforced its dominance in Ethiopia’s banking industry, with its total assets reaching 2.073 trillion birr. Abe noted that since Ethiopia embarked on a comprehensive macroeconomic transformation in July 2016, the bank has worked toward aligning with these reforms and achieving remarkable growth.
Since June 2024, CBE has expanded its market share across key financial metrics. As of January 2025, the bank’s market share rose to 50.4 percent (from 43.7 percent) in total assets, 49.3 percent (from 47.1 percent) in deposits, 34.9 percent (from 28.3 percent) in total capital, 51.7 percent (from 42.8 percent) in loan portfolio, and 50.3 percent (from 50.0 percent) in digital transactions.
By the end of February 2025, CBE’s total deposits had reached 1.541 trillion birr, while its total loan and bond portfolio stood at 1.393 trillion birr. The bank continues to play a crucial role in the financial sector, contributing significantly to Ethiopia’s economic transformation.
CBE has also demonstrated impressive performance in deposit mobilization, collecting 367.40 billion birr in the past eight months. This has driven a 31.3 percent growth in total deposits compared to June 2024.
Abe further reported that CBE’s interest-free banking service, CBE Nur, collected 47.04 billion birr in deposits during the review period, bringing the total interest-free savings to 163.60 billion birr. The private sector holds 70.2 percent of the bank’s total deposits, while the remaining 29.8 percent belongs to the public sector.
