Anbesa Bank shareholders and senior leadership have intensified efforts to resolve an escalating governance dispute with the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), after the central bank reaffirmed its decision to invalidate the bank’s board election and proceed with a fresh vote next month.
The latest development follows a high-level meeting held on Thursday between Anbesa Bank’s leadership and NBE Governor Eyob Tekalign. According to sources familiar with the discussions, the governor remained unconvinced by the bank’s arguments and declined to reverse the regulator’s earlier decision. As a result, the extraordinary general meeting ordered by the NBE will proceed as scheduled on August 8 to elect a new board of directors.
The dispute began after the central bank withdrew a letter it had issued on June 8 to the Documents Authentication and Registration Service (DARS), confirming the validity of the minutes of Anbesa Bank’s 21st General Assembly, held in October 2025.
In a revised directive dated June 19, the NBE endorsed all resolutions adopted at the general assembly except those concerning the election of the board of directors. It instructed DARS to register the remaining resolutions while excluding the board election.
Anbesa Bank subsequently appealed the decision, asking the regulator to reconsider its position. However, in a July 1 letter, the NBE rejected the appeal and instructed the bank to organize another shareholders’ meeting to conduct a fresh board election.
The regulator’s stance has triggered concern among shareholders. Sources told Capital that investors representing roughly 35 percent of the bank’s paid-up capital submitted a petition on July 4 requesting a direct meeting with Governor Eyob to seek clarification on the decision and discuss the governance challenges facing the bank.
According to the sources, many shareholders believe the central bank may have received an inaccurate picture of the board’s internal dynamics.
“They appear to have been told that the board is fundamentally divided,” one source said. “Differences of opinion are common in any boardroom and are an essential part of sound corporate governance, especially when decisions involve the bank’s long-term financial interests.”
However, insiders claim the disagreement extends beyond routine governance matters and is linked to broader political and commercial interests connected to Tigray.
They noted that Anbesa Bank has significant lending exposure in the region, where many businesses suffered severe financial setbacks following the conflict that erupted in northern Ethiopia in late 2020.
According to the sources, the bank currently carries nearly 12 billion birr in non-performing loans, a considerable share of which is tied to borrowers in Tigray, including companies associated with EFFORT, the business conglomerate historically linked to the TPLF.
At the center of the dispute, sources said, is whether the bank should approve additional credit facilities and foreign exchange allocations for companies that already have substantial unpaid obligations.
“Some members of the board have advocated for extending new loans and forex allocations to clients with large outstanding debts,” one source explained. “The majority has resisted those proposals, arguing that doing so would contradict prudent banking standards and regulatory requirements.”
The current board leadership maintains that its responsibility is to protect the bank’s financial health while ensuring full compliance with banking regulations.
“They have refused to authorize additional financing for heavily indebted borrowers,” the source added. “That has led to efforts by another group to replace the existing board with directors who would be more accommodating to those interests.”
Separately, Board Chairman Alem Asfaw formally sought a meeting with the NBE governor to present the board’s position and request further clarification on the regulator’s decision.
Despite nullifying the board election, the central bank upheld the general assembly’s decision to increase the bank’s capital after what sources described as an extensive verification process. The approval enabled Anbesa Bank to raise its paid-up capital to more than six billion birr, surpassing the five-billion-birr minimum capital threshold that commercial banks were required to meet by June 30, 2026.
With the governor declining to reconsider the regulator’s position during Thursday’s meeting, attention has now shifted to the August 8 extraordinary general meeting, where shareholders are expected to elect a new board in accordance with the NBE’s directive.
