Yohannes Ayalew Biru, who recently resigned as President of the Development Bank of Ethiopia due to health concerns, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Amhara Bank.
The announcement, made on September 13, 2024, marks a new chapter in his distinguished career in Ethiopian finance.
Amhara Bank, in a statement on its social media platforms, confirmed that Yohannes would take over as CEO, effective immediately.
The bank, which began operations three years ago with an initial capital of seven billion birr, is a private institution founded by 138,000 shareholders.
Yohannes is widely respected for his financial expertise, particularly for his role in revitalizing the Development Bank of Ethiopia during his tenure.
Under his leadership, the bank overcame a series of complex challenges and failures, which had placed it in a precarious financial position.
Prior to his presidency at the Development Bank, Yohannes served as Deputy Governor and Chief Economist at the National Bank of Ethiopia, a role in which he earned admiration as a leading financial economist.
Five years ago, Yohannes was appointed to the board of the Development Bank, later succeeding Haileyesus Bekele as president.
His leadership came at a critical time, as there were debates about whether the Development Bank should be shut down due to its severe financial troubles.
At the time, the bank’s non-performing loan ratio had skyrocketed to 57%, far exceeding the 15% threshold set for development banks, with unreturned loans totaling 27 billion birr.
Despite these challenges, Yohannes took decisive action. Under his leadership, the bank managed to stabilize numerous factories burdened with unpaid loans, helping businesses resolve capital problems by arranging additional loans.
He also played a key role in establishing joint ventures that brought many struggling factories back to financial stability.
As a result, the bank’s non-performing loan rate fell from 57% to just 6%, well below the 15% limit, and the bank returned to profitability year after year.
Yohannes’ extensive experience in Ethiopia’s financial sector and his deep understanding of the country’s economy have made him a well-regarded figure in both public and private banking circles.
His appointment as CEO of Amhara Bank is expected to bring further stability and growth to the relatively young institution.
In December 2023, Amhara Bank’s Board of Directors dismissed its president, Mr. Henok Kebede, after holding him accountable for a significant loss of 460 million birr. This decision followed Mr. Kebede’s resignation as the bank’s CEO.
The Board also took the unusual step of revoking the signing authority of both the CEO and the Chief Corporate Service Officer, citing underperformance.
According to the chairman of the board, this action was prompted by clear deficiencies in their leadership.
The bank announced that this decision came after a thorough assessment of senior management, which revealed a persistent failure to meet strategic objectives and key performance metrics since their appointment.
Despite projecting a profit of over 306 million birr for the 2022/23 fiscal year, the bank ultimately reported a significant loss of 460,286,000 birr.
