Explainers

What is the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR)?

The single most-watched safety number for a bank — what it measures, why the NBE sets a floor, and how to read it.

How Ethiopian fiscal years work

Why '2016 E.C.' mostly means 2023/24 — the Ethiopian calendar, the Hamle–Sene fiscal year, and how we label years.

Reading a bank's balance sheet

Deposits, loans, equity and assets — what each line tells you about a bank's health, in plain language.

What are non-performing loans (NPLs)?

The NPL ratio is the standard test of a bank's loan quality — what counts as non-performing, why it matters, and how to read the trend.

ROA and ROE: judging a bank's profitability

Return on assets vs return on equity — the two profitability ratios every bank watcher uses, and the leverage trap hidden in a high ROE.

The liquidity ratio: can a bank pay what it owes?

Why profitable banks can still run out of cash — what the liquidity ratio measures, the NBE floor, and how to read the trend.

Reading a bank's income statement

Interest income, fees, costs and provisions — how a bank's profit is built line by line, and what the composition of profit tells you.

How the National Bank of Ethiopia supervises banks

Capital, asset quality and liquidity — the NBE's rulebook for Ethiopian banks, what a breach means, and why compliance is a floor, not a ranking.

The Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), explained

Ethiopia's stock exchange — launched January 2025 under ECMA, from Wegagen Bank's first listing to Ethio Telecom's landmark IPO, and why it matters.

Ethiopia's financial regulators and market institutions: a directory

NBE, ECMA, ESX, EDIF, EIH, ECA, AABE and more — who regulates, owns, and backstops Ethiopian finance, and why each matters for disclosures.