Thirteen commercial banks that are under-establishment are at the edge of dissolving after failing to meet the six-month deadline set by the National Bank of Ethiopia to secure a license for banking operations with a paid-up capital of half a billion Birr.
The deadline given for banks that have already started selling shares to the public ended last week. The new five billion Br paid-up capital requirement became effective immediately after the end of the deadline, leaving those unable to meet the requirement with two options- either merge or perish.
Last year, the central bank licensed three commercial banks, of which two of them provide full-fledged interest free banking service, bringing the total licensed commercial banks to 21.