The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has announced plans to woo nationals in the diaspora with mortgage loans. The bank in a statement issued on Friday said the persons targeted are non-resident Ethiopians and foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin. CBE chief Bacha Gina, during a stakeholder meeting held earlier this week in the capital Addis Ababa said the product was part of the bank’s vision to serve and grow together with its customers. “He added that the mortgage loan would benefit non-resident Ethiopians and foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin. Credit Quality Assurance Director, Emebet Melese explained to the diaspora how the loan could be facilitated. “Business Development Vice President, Ato Yishak Mengesha, on his part briefed the diaspora about the bank’s background, where it stands now and its vision,” the CBE statement added. The bank is the country’s largest commercial bank which as of June 2015 was estimated to be worth about 303.6 billion Birr in assets and held approximately 67 per cent of deposits and about 53 per cent of all bank loans in the country. As part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s economic reforms, there has been a bold move to allow significant private involvement in a hitherto state-controlled economy. In late August, Abiy after chairing a Macroeconomic Committee issued a number of forex regulation adjustments for a country that has long suffered a dollar crunch. The Committee raised the interest rate yield for “27 per cent NBE bill” that requires private banks to purchase National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) bonds from current 3 per cent to 5 per cent. They also removed the current diaspora account limit of USD 50,000. Diaspora account holders can now save unlimited amount in Forex. NBE’s purchase of 30 per cent of the forex earnings of the private banks will be at mid rate instead of the current buying rate. Per their decision the list of business that are eligible to accept payments in foreign currency has also been expanded to include airport, telecom services, chartered private airlines, guest houses, specialized clinics & hospitals serving foreign clients.
