Goh Bank becomes the first private financial institution to open a mortgage bank in Ethiopia. It has started operation with a paid-up capital of 521.5 million Br.
The mortage bank is joining an industry that is characterized by stiff competition and highly concentrated in urban market, particularly Addis Ababa, where a third of the branches of commercial banks are located.
Currently, there are 20 active commercial banks, of which two of them provide full-fledged interest-free banking services. Another six banks are at the edge of acquiring license, while seven microfinance institutions are in transition to conventional banks.
This is excluding 13 banks collecting shares but unable to the six-month deadline of the central bank to begin operations with half a billion Birr capital. They are now expected to collect five billion Birr capital, with the effectiveness of the new requirement during mid-2021.
