Abay Bank registers 249 million birr profit before tax which represents 30 percent growth over from the previous year. According to the Bank’s performance report on the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2017, the Bank’s aggregate deposit has reached birr 6.8 billion for the year. The aggregate disposed has surged by 41 percent showing an increment of 2 billion birr from last year’s record of 4.8 billion.

The report shows that deposit mobilized through interest free banking increased from birr 18 million on June 30, 2016 to 107 million birr on June 30, 2017, growing by Birr 89 million birr. Of the total deposit, savings deposit accounted for 58 percent followed by demand and fixed time deposit constituted 22 percent and 20 percent respectively.

During the year 2016/17, a fresh loan of 2 billion birr has been dispersed and the total outstanding loans and advances reached 4.3 billion birr, showing a growth by 37 percent than the previous year. Loans and advances held by different economic sectors indicated that 24 percent goes to international trade sector followed by building and construction with 22 percent, transport and communication with 19 percent, domestic trade services with 17 percent, while the remaining 18 percent was accounted by other sectors.

The bank also has managed to generate foreign currency over USD 123 million which when compared with the previous year has shown an increase in 53 percent. In terms of source for the hard currency, the export sector took the lion’s share accounting for 79 percent of the overall total foreign currency generated, followed by SWIFT transfer with 13 percent and money transfer agents at 6 percent and the rest 2 percent from other resources.
The total asset of the Bank has also reached 8.6 billion showing a 39 percent more growth from the previous year. In the fiscal period that ended, the Bank managed to generate a total income of birr 872 million indicating a growth of 36 percent compared to the previous year. In terms of income composition, the lion share belongs to interest income with 63 percent, followed by commission income with 19 percent, service charge with 9 percent gain on foreign currency valuation at 8 percent and one percent from other incomes.

Commenting on the recent devaluation of the birr, the Bank’s president Yehuala Gessesse stated that since the devaluation went into effect in October, it was still too early to tell the impact of that decision.
“Devaluation is done because it is beloved that it will benefit the economy, especially in the export sector and also help the inflow of foreign currency into the country which is very important. It is too early to tell if there are any negative sides to it; after the devaluation, there have been several directives to control inflation and so on, but it is still very early and we have not seen the impacts yet, whether positive or negative,” the president stated.

CapitalEthiopia