Economy

CBE Cuts NPL Ratio to 2.15% Amid Strong Loan Recovery and Digital Push

The Reporter · 3 hours ago · Read the Full Story on The Reporter
CBE Cuts NPL Ratio to 2.15% Amid Strong Loan Recovery and Digital Push
AI SUMMARY

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia reduced its non-performing loan ratio to 2.15 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, supported by robust loan recovery, digital credit expansion, and government financial restructuring.

  • The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) reduced its Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio to 2.15 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, which is below the National Bank of Ethiopia's 5 percent regulatory limit.
  • CBE generated ETB132 billion in loan interest income in audited FY 2024/25 results, driving net profits up 75.8 percent to ETB38.71 billion and enabling an ETB37.04 billion impairment reversal.
  • Total outstanding credit reached ETB3.45 trillion by the end of the 2025/26 fiscal year following the lifting of quantitative credit caps by the central bank.
  • The bank's CBE Beje mobile platform scaled non-collateral digital lending through institutional agreements, including one covering 21,000 staff members at the Ethiopian Electric Utility.
  • Digital channels handle 88.6 percent of all transactions, supported by 19 million CBE Birr subscribers and 11.59 million mobile banking clients.
  • The federal government executed an ETB92.85 billion state capital injection during the 2024/25 fiscal year, expanding CBE's total equity to ETB189 billion.
  • The government converted billions in non-performing loans owed by state-owned enterprises like Ethiopian Electric Power into long-term sovereign bonds to remove delinquent debt from CBE's active portfolio.
  • Interim indicators show CBE holds 49 percent of total deposits, 48.2 percent of total assets, 48.2 percent of total loans, and 45.2 percent of all capital in Ethiopia's banking sector.