The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has reported a record-breaking financial performance for the 2025/26 fiscal year (Ethiopian FY 2018), posting more than 80 billion birr in profit, collecting a historic 707.4 billion birr in new deposits, and expanding its total deposit base to over 2.4 trillion birr.
Speaking at a press conference held at the bank’s headquarters on Wednesday, CBE President Abe Sano said the bank generated more than 272 billion birr in revenue, enabling it to achieve a record profit that was 146.3% higher than the previous fiscal year’s performance. He added that the bank is targeting 120 billion birr in profit during the 2026/27 fiscal year.
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The bank’s total loan portfolio reached 1.64 trillion birr after disbursing 648.02 billion birr in loans during the fiscal year. Of that amount, 588.11 billion birr, or 90.7%, was extended to the private sector, reflecting a significant shift in the bank’s lending strategy. According to Abe, private sector lending accounted for only about 10% of CBE’s loans six years ago.
CBE also reported collecting 546.26 billion birr in loan repayments while maintaining a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio below 1.4%, indicating strong asset quality and loan recovery performance.
On the foreign exchange front, the bank generated more than $5.6 billion in foreign currency earnings during the year.
Digital banking continued to be a major growth area for CBE. The bank processed 3.48 billion digital transactions with a total transaction value of 22.24 trillion birr over the fiscal year. Abe said CBE now accounts for 70% of Ethiopia’s digital payment market by transaction value, while 90% of all money transfers processed by the bank are conducted through its digital payment platforms.
The bank also announced that, on the first day of the new fiscal year, it had already disbursed more than 1.09 billion birr in loans through its expanded lending programs, including digital loan products. The number of borrowers has surpassed 1.17 million, with the bank aiming to further broaden access to credit.
According to CBE, the bank now holds 50.1% of the country’s deposit market, 48.3% of outstanding loans, 50.1% of total banking assets, and 45.4% of the banking sector’s capital, reinforcing its position as Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank.
Abe credited the bank’s performance to customer confidence, employee commitment, government-led economic reforms, and collaboration with stakeholders. He also thanked customers, employees, development partners, and media organizations for their contributions to the bank’s record-breaking fiscal year.
