Dashen Bank ended the fiscal year last June mobilizing a billion USD worth foreign currencies, a 43 percent increase from its performance the previous year and double what it registers three years ago.
Asfaw Alemu, chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank, was ecstatic as he announced his outstanding performance in getting the one billion USD foreign currency inflow to Ethiopia through his bank. He announced the news to the shareholders in the general assembly that was held last Thursday, October 26, 2023.
In the fiscal year that ended in June 2020, the bank could mobilize 562 million USD. It grew to 602 million USD the following year, and during the year that ended in June 2022 it managed to mobilize just 708 million USD.
Dashen mobilized the forex by supporting its exporting clients, facilitating remittance, FDI and other inflow sources.
Ethiopia has been suffering with chronic shortage of foreign currency in the last few years, with about four billion USD balance of payment deficit. Total net inflow of the foreign currency until last year couldn’t exceed 18 billion USD, while the outflow reaching between 22 to 23 billion USD.
A billion USD of the foreign currency inflow came through Dashen Bank last year. The state giant Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) and Awash Bank have been the leading banks to have mobilized over a billion USD worth of foreign currencies each, in their banking operation. Dashen now has joined the leading group.
The bank managed to get a loan of about 40 million USD from two international financers a few months ago. Management of the bank also planned to get additional loans from other financers.
