Awash Bank reaps huge profit

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -  Awash International Bank (AIB), one of the oldest and largest private banks in the country, recorded 7 percent profit in the first nine months of the fiscal year compared with the previous year’s 12 months report.

In the past budget year the bank registered 360.6 million birr net profit.

“Our profit in the first three quarter of the fiscal year is a record,” Tsehay Shiferaw, CEO of AIB, told Capital.  He said that the profit will grow in the coming months.

Awash has 80 branches throughout the country and expects to add six new ones before the end of the fiscal year.

AIB joined the financial sector in 1995. It has over 654,000 account holders with nine billion birr in total deposits.

According to the CEO, the total paid up capital of AIB is more than 900 million birr and the total assets have reached 15 billion birr. In the past budget year that ended in June 2011 the bank’s total assets was 11.1 billion birr and similarly the paid up capital stood at 737 million birr.

“Currently the total loan and advance of the bank is 5.4 billion birr,” the CEO said.

According to the CEO, it is the only private bank with its own headquarters and it is rapidly expanding its branches. At the end of the coming month the bank will inaugurate the eight floor building in Adama town and it is in the process of building two other branches in Addis Ababa and one in Hawassa town. The bank has branch buildings in Harar, Shashemene, Jimma, Nekemte and Gimbi towns.

The CEO said that in the coming budget year the bank plans to construct other branch buildings in Bahir Dar, Mekele and Dire Dawa towns.

AIB, which is one of the three founders of Premier Switch Solutions (PSS) Share Company with United and Nib banks, has signed a 3.5 million dollar contract with Miysis in the past week to automate its core banking system with the latest BankFusion 2.0 scheme. The products included in the contract are retail and corporate banking products, TI (trade financing package, which will allow customers to get online LC service), credit package, finance portal, HR portal, Islamic banking, data management and anti money laundering.

In the past sixteen years the bank was working with Bank Mater core banking solutions which was installed by Miysis.

Source: Capital Ethiopia