A man counts Ethiopia's birr notes at Merkato in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 25, 2024. Ethiopia’s central bank orders 16 banks to submit recovery plans after failing a liquidity stress test amid rising foreign interest.
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has directed 16 commercial banks to submit recovery plans to shore up liquidity after they failed a stress test, as the regulator tightens oversight of a sector newly opened to foreign investors.
The 16 lenders failed the liquidity stress test for the financial year ended June 2025, down from 20 in 2024. This comes despite an overall improvement in the sector’s liquidity position.
