LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF BANKING … LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF BANKING BUSINESS DIRECTIVE NO. SBB/1/94 1. Issuing Authority These directives are issued by the National Bank
Post on 09-Jul-2018
217 Views
Preview:
Transcript
1
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
DIRECTIVE NO. SBB/1/94
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the
authority vested in it by article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No.
83/1994 and by article 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business
Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definitions
In these directives:
2.1 Related parties shall mean directors, founders, principal officers,
employees and other businesses in which they have direct interest.
2.2 Residence shall have the meaning assigned to it under article 174 of the
Commercial Code of Ethiopia.
3. Information Required From Applicants For License.
3.1. Evidence for paid up capital which includes certificate of deposit in a
blocked subscription account and evidence for valuation of contribution in
kind.
3.2. Names and occupation (including dates and addresses of previous
employment), of the organizers of the bank if these are other than the
directors.
3.3. Feasibility study document.
3.4. Projection of Financial statements for the first three years of operation
showing major categories of loans by economic sectors and liabilities.
3.5. Disclosure of the identify of shareholders who have acquired more than ten
percent of the capital stock, indicating their names, nationality, number and
value of shares held.
3.6. Separate cost of vault, equipment, furniture and fixture purchased or leased.
3.7. Authenticated ownership certificate and/or lease agreement for items listed
under Section 11.1 of the application form.
2
3.8. Description of any purchase or proposed purchase of goods and services, or
lease of real estate by the bank from related parties.
3.9. Proposal of insurance coverage and extent of such coverage.
3.10. Curriculum vitae of the proposed Chief Executive, founders and/or directors
including their age, martial status, education, employment history for the
past ten years, their experience in business and financial affairs, their
involvement in civic, social and charitable activities including any
leadership position held.
3.11. Duty completed application form as prescribed by the Bank and submit
enclosures specified therein.
3.12. Proposed organizational chart of the bank, and brief description of the
functions of the main organizational units.
4. Criteria For Selection Of Chief Executive
4.1. Education
A minimum of first degree or equivalent in relevant field having attended a
recognized higher institution of learning.
4.2. Employment
A minimum of 10 years of reputable managerial experience in a financial or
related institution at a senior level which can expose him to acquire
sufficient banking and management skills.
4.3. Age
A minimum of 35 years
4.4. Marital Status
Preferably married or responsible to a family
5. Criteria For Selection Of Members Of Board Of Directors
5.1. Education
A minimum completion of high school education with ability to read and
grasp reports, especially financial statements.
3
5.2. Employment
Members of Board of Directors shall have adequate managerial experience
in business and/or similar organizations.
5.3. Age
A minimum of 30 years of age
6. Fees
6.1. A company applying to undertake banking business shall pay investigation
fee of Birr750.- (Birr seven hundred and fifty only), that is to be paid at the
time of lodging an application.
6.2. A company licensed to undertake banking business shall pay initial
registration fee currently prescribed by the Ministry of Trade for
registration of Memorandum and Articles of Association.
6.3. A company licensed to undertake banking business shall pay initial license
fee of Birr5,550.- (Birr five thousand five hundred fifty only).
6.4. A licensed bank shall pay annual license renewal fee of Birr5,550.- (Birr
five thousand five hundred fifty only).
These Directives shall enter into force as of Fifteenth day of May 1994.
Application Form to Undertake
Banking Business
1. Name of applicant and Designation__________________________________
___________________________________________.
2. Proposed Name of the company (under formation) ______________________
___________________________________________.
3. Name of the Spokesperson_________________________________________
Photo of
Representative
of Applicant
4
Address: ________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
4. Address of company, and proposed branches
4.1 Head office Address:
Location_________________________________________________
P.O.Box _________________________
Tel. _____________________________
Telex ___________________________
Fax _____________________________
4.2 Branch Address: (if any)
4.2.1 Location
_______________________________________________
Tel. ________________________
P.O.Box _____________________
4.2.2 Location _____________________________________
Tel. _________________________
P.O.Box _____________________
(If there are more than two proposed branches, annex a list in
same form).
5
5. Names and Addresses of the Founders
5.1 Name Nationality Occupation Residence Address Number of
Shares Held
5.1.1
5.1.2
5.1.3
5.1.4
5.1.5
5.1.6
5.1.7
5.1.8
5.1.9
5.1.10
* (Where the founders are more than ten, annex a list in same form)
6
6. Names and Addresses of Members of Board of Directors
6.1 Name Occupation Residence Nationality Address Number of
Shares Held
6.1.1
6.1.2
6.1.3
6.1.4
6.1.5
6.1.6
6.1.7
6.1.8
5.1.9
6.1.10
6.1.11
6.1.12
6.2 (Attach curriculum vitae of each director)
7
7. Transaction and operation of the bank
7.1 Transactions and operations the bank proposes to carry out
7.1.1 ___________________________________________________________________
7.1.2 ___________________________________________________________________
7.1.3 ___________________________________________________________________
7.1.4 ___________________________________________________________________
7.2 The manner in which the company proposes to carry out its transactions and operations.
7.2.1 ____________________________________________________________________
7.2.2 ___________________________________________________________________
7.2.3 ____________________________________________________________________
7.2.4 ____________________________________________________________________
8
8. Contributions:
8.1 In cash Birr
_________________________________________________
8.2 In kind (specify the type of property and value)
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
9. Initial capital of the Company (in Birr)
9.1 Authorized capital_____________________________________
9.2 Subscribed capital _____________________________________
9.3 Paid up capital ________________________________________
10. Shares
10.1 Number of shares issued _____________________________________
10.1.1 Number of shares held by founders ____________________
10.1.2 Number of shares held by subscribers__________________
10.2 Par value of each share in Birr ________________________________
11. Provide the following information with respect to:
9
11.1 Cost of premises' equipment and others where purchased or leased by the
applicant.
Item Manner of
Acquisition
Cost
Building
Land
Vault
Equipment
Fixture
Professional Services
Total
* Lease, purchase, rent .......etc.
11.2 Indicate if any of the items listed hereinabove are acquired from related
parties.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________
12. Types and extent of the company's proposed insurance coverage
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
10
13. Give statements that members of Board of Directors and the Chief Executive are
vetted to fulfill requirements stated under Article 30 (1) (a) and (b) of Proclamation
84/1994.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
14. Any other statement
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
15. I hereby confirm that the foregoing statements are true and correct.
Date________________________ Signature ____________________
Name and Official Designation
of the Applicant
11
The following particulars are attached here to:
ENCLOSURES
1. Four authenticated copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association by which
the Company is constituted.
2. Four copies of bank certificates of deposit for contributions in cash held in
subscription blocked account.
3. Four copies of valuation evidence for capital contribution in kind.
4. Two copies of feasibility study documents.
5. Two copies of projected Financial statements for the first three years of operation.
6. Two copies of authenticated ownership certificate for items listed under Section
11.1 of the application form.
7. Two copies of evidence of insurance coverage for premises already acquired or
leased.
8. Four copies of curriculum vitae of Chief Executive officer, founders and/or members
of Board of Directors.
9. One copy of evidence of payment of investigation fee.
10. Two copies of organizational chart of the proposed insurance company and
description of functions of main organizational units.
11. Four passport size photographs of the official designate who applies for the license
on behalf of the Company.
12. Two copies of disclosure of the identity of share holders who have acquired more
than ten percent of the Capital stock, indicating their names, nationality, number and
value of shares held.
12
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/3/95
CONTRIBUTION IN KIND
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the
authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No.
83/1994 and by article 5(b)(5) of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business
Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Contribution in Kind
2.1. Items like built in vault, buildings, essential vehicles and others that are
acceptable to the Bank may be considered as capital contributions.
2.2. Contributions in kind should be valued by professional valuers acceptable
to the National Bank of Ethiopia.
2.3. Capital contributions in kind shall not be considered for the purposes of
fulfilling minimum required capital and shall not exceed 25% of paid up
capital in excess of minimum required capital.
These Directives shall enter in to force as of 21st day of August 1995.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/4/95
LEGAL RESERVE
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the
authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994 and by article 13(4) of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking
Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Requirement
2.1 Every bank shall transfer annually 25% of its annual net profit to its
13
Legal Reserve Account until such account equals its capital.
2.2 When the legal reserve account equals the capital of the bank, the
amount to be transferred to the legal reserve account shall be 10% (ten
percent) of the annual net profit.
These Directives shall enter into force as of 21st day of August 1995.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/9/95
COMPUTATION OF RISK WEIGHTED ASSET
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the
authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994 and by article 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking
Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definition
2.1 For the purpose of these Directives, the capital of a bank consists of issued
and fully paid in shares, legal reserves and other reserves to be approved by
the National Bank of Ethiopia and
2.2 The minimum capital requirement shall be applied to a bank on a
consolidated basis, including subsidiaries and affiliates engaged in banking
and financial activities.
3. Manner of computation
Risk weighted assets and percentage weight attached to each asset shall be
calculated in the manner as shown in the tables attached herewith which shall be a
part hereof.
These Directives shall inter into force as of 21st day of August 1995.
14
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/10/95
LIMITATION ON ACCOMMODATION
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the
authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994 and by article 17(1) of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking
Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definition
For the purposes of this Directive, ‘person’ physical (natural) person.
3. Limitation on Accommodation
No bank shall, directly or indirectly, except with the prior written approval of the
Bank, grant or permit to be outstanding unsecured loans, advances or credit
facilities of an aggregated amount in excess of birr 30,000.=(Thirty Thousand
Birr).
3.1 to its directors, or any of them, whether severally or jointly with any other
person.
3.2 To any person of whom or of which it or any one or more of its directors is
a guarantor.
These directives shall enter into force as of 1st day of September 1995.
15
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/12/1996
LIMITATION ON INVESTMENT OF BANKS
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to
the authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994 and by article 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business
Proclamation No. 84/1994.
1. No bank shall engage in insurance business but may hold up to 20% in an
insurance company and up to a total of 10% of the banks equity capital in such
business.
2. Banks are prohibited from engaging directly in non-banking businesses such as
agriculture, industry, and commerce.
3. A bank may hold shares in a non-banking business only up to 20% of the
company’s share capital and total holdings in such business shall not exceed10%
of the bank’s net worth.
4. A bank’s equity participation in another bank shall be subject to prior
authorization by National Bank of Ethiopia.
5. No bank shall commit more than 20% of its net worth in real estate acquisition
and development other than for own business premises with out prior approval of
the National Bank of Ethiopia.
6. A bank may not invest more than 10 %(ten percent) of its net worth in other
securities.
7. The aggregate sum of all investments at any one time (excluding investment in
government securities) may not exceed 50% of the bank’s net worth, with out
prior approval by the National Bank of Ethiopia.
8. Dealing in securities shall be done by banks only through a limited liability
subsidiary company wherein the holding of the bank shall not exceed 10% (ten
percent) of its equity capital.
These Directives shall enter into force as of 8th
day of April 1996.
16
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/13/1996
NAMING OF OFFICERS
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the
authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994 and by article 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking
Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Designation
Unless a General Manager, Chief Executive or Principal Officer of a bank is
member of the Board of Directors of the bank, it is prohibited to designate him a s
a Managing director.
3. Effective date
These Directives shall enter into force as of 8th
day of April 1996.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/15/96
AMENDMENT OF LIQUIDITY REQUIREMENT
1. Issuing Authority
This Directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority
vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by
Articles 16, sub-article 1(a) and (b) and 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking
Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definition
2.1. For the purpose of liquidity requirement “liquid asset”, in addition to what has
been provided for under 16(2) of Proclamation No. 84/1994, include deposits
held in O.E.C.D. currencies and payable by banks of OECD countries and in
such other currencies as may be approved by the National Bank of Ethiopia as
well as securities issued by OECD countries denominated in currencies of such
17
countries with tenures as indicated under article 16 2(b) (3,4 and 5) of
Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No.84/1994.
2.2. “Current liabilities” shall mean the sum of demand (current) deposits, savings
deposits and time deposits and similar liabilities with less than one month
maturity period.
3. Total Requirement
Any licensed bank shall maintain liquid assets of not less than 15% (fifteen percent)
of its total current liabilities.
4. Specific Requirements
For the purpose of meeting the liquidity requirement, each bank shall maintain:
4.1 at least five percent(5%) of the current liabilities in the form of primary
reserve assets; and
4.2 ten percent(10%) of the current liabilities in the form of secondary reserve
assets.
5. Reports
5.1 Banks shall submit to the Supervision Department of the National Bank of
Ethiopia properly certified weekly liquidity positions showing the end-of week
balances of each Wednesday not later than Tuesday of the following week.
6. Repeal
Directive No.SBB/5/95 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Directive.
This Directive shall enter into force as of 20th
day of November 1996.
LCENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/19/96
Approval of Appointment of an
Independent Auditor
1. Issuing Authority
18
This directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and
banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by Article 36 of the Licensing and supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No.
84/1994.
2. Definition
1.1 For the purpose of this Directive "associate" shall mean "any company where the
independent auditor or his partner(s) has a business interest".
1.2 The term "bank shall mean a company licensed under Licensing and Supervision
of Banking Business Proclamation 84/1994 to undertake banking business.
3. Application for Approval 1.3 After appointing an independent auditor in line with Article 370 of the
Commercial Code of Ethiopia, every licensed bank shall annually apply to the
National Bank of Ethiopia for approval of the appointed independent auditor.
1.4 In the application for approval, the bank should confirm that such an auditor has
been properly assessed prior to the appointment and is, in the bank's view, able to
comply with the provisions of Article 18 of the Licensing and Supervision of
Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994. For this purpose the bank must
seek a declaration from the auditor which will be submitted together with the
application to the effect that:
a) The auditor is qualified in terms of Article 18 of the Licensing and
Supervision of Banking business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
b) The auditor, his partners or associates do not operate an account or have
not been granted any type of facilities in the bank except in the normal
course of business and at arm's length.
Directive No. SBB/7/95 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Directive. This Directive
shall enter into force as of 20th
day of November 1996.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/21/96
Manner of Reporting Financial Information
2. Issuing Authority
This directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority
vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994
19
and by Article 19 of the Licensing and supervision of Banking Business
Proclamation No. 84/1994.
3. Reports
Reports shall be submitted to the Supervision Department of the National Bank of
Ethiopia within twenty days after the end of the period for which the data are
reported except the Reserve and Liquidity requirement reports which shall be
submitted in accordance with Directives No. SBB/14/96 & SBB/15/96,
respectively, in the form and manner as shown in the tables attached herewith
which shall be part hereof.
This Directive shall enter into force as of 20th
day of November 1996.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION
OF BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/22/96
AMENDMENT OF BRANCHES
4. Issuing Authority
This directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested
in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by Article
5(4) of the Licensing and supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definition
For the purpose of this directive the term "Branch" shall include any branch office,
branch agency, additional office, or any place of business at which deposits are received
or cheques are paid out or money is lent and other banking business is solicited.
3. Requirement
3.1 To open a branch office an application accompanied by feasibility study shall be
submitted to the Bank.
20
3.2 A bank authorized to open a branch shall open the said branch and commence
operation within 6(six) months from the date of the grant of authorization.
4. Duty of the Bank
The Bank shall give a written response within thirty calendar days from the date of
receipt of the application and feasibility study under Article 3 hereof.
5. Fee
A bank applying to open a branch shall pay an investigation fee of Birr 1,500.- (One
Thousand Five Hundred Birr) for each branch.
6. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/2/95 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Directive.
This Directive shall enter into force as of 20th day of November 1996.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/24/99
Minimum Paid up Capital to be maintained by Banks
WHEREAS, it has been necessary to raise the minimum capital required to establish a
new bank so that the newly established bank can compete successfully with existing
banks;
WHEREAS, it is known that as banks expand their business they must maintain a level of
capital commensurate with the volume of their business to withstand adverse operational
results;
NOW, THEREFORE, in accordance with Article 13(1) and 36 of Proclamation No.
84/1994, the National Bank of Ethiopia has issued these directives.
1. Minimum paid-up Capital
1.1 The minimum paid up capital that shall be required to obtain a banking
business license shall be Seventy Five Million Birr, which shall be fully paid
21
in cash and deposited in a bank in the name and to the account of the bank
under formation.
1.2 Existing banks whose paid up capital is below Seventy Five Million Birr
shall raise their paid up capital to the said amount by end of June 2002. In
the mean time, they will continue to maintain minimum total capital levels
not less than 8% of risk weighted assets.
2. Sanctions for failure top comply with the new capital requirement
2.1 If a bank fails to comply with the capital requirements specified under sub-
article 1.2 above, the National Bank of Ethiopia may
a. prohibit such bank from engaging in any additional business until the
deficiency in capital is corrected;
b. require such bank to merge with another bank;
c. close such bank; or
d. take away other measures it considers fit.
3. Effective Date
These Directives shall enter into force as of the first day of June 1999.
Establishment of Special Account for Effecting Payments for
Coffee Purchases from the Coffee Auction Center
Directive No. SBB/26/2001
Whereas, issuing cheques without sufficient cover to coffee sellers has become a
concerning development;
Cognizant, that the practice of issuing such cheques has far-reaching negative
consequences on the supply of Ethiopian coffee to the international market;
Cognizant, that such malpractice erodes public confidence in the overall cheque
payment system of banks;
Now, therefore, the National Bank of Ethiopia has issued these directives pursuant to
the authority vested in it under Article 61 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994.
1. Definition
“Coffee Auction Center” shall mean the Coffee Auction Center operated by Coffee and
Tea Authority.
22
2. Opening of a Special Coffee Auction Account
2.1 Upon a written request by a coffee exporter, commercial banks shall open
special coffee auction account in the name of the coffee exporter;
2.2 Balances in the special coffee auction account opened in accordance with 2.1
above shall be used solely for effecting payments to coffee sellers for coffee
purchases won at the coffee auctions conducted by the Coffee Auction Center.
3. Operation of the special coffee auction account
3.1 Upon request of the holder of the Special Coffee Auction Account, branches
of commercial banks shall issue, on behalf of the concerned bank, original
Letter of Undertaking addressed to the Coffee Auction Center, Coffee and Tea
Authority, with a copy to the account holder. The contents of the Letter of
Undertaking and the signatories shall be as specified inn the attachment to
these directives which shall be a part thereof;
3.2 The Letter of Undertaking which a bank issues to the Coffee auction Center in
accordance with 3.1 above shall constitute a commitment on the part of the
concerned bank to pay the coffee seller named in the payment authorization
the full amount upon receipt of a payment authorization letter from the Coffee
Auction Center and corresponding cheque from the holder of the Special
Coffee Auction Account;
3.3 No cheques shall be drawn on the Special Coffee Auction Account in favor of
the holder of the account or in favor of a third party other than the coffee
seller(s) specified in the payment authorization issued by the Coffee Auction
Center;
3.4 In the event that the holder of the Special Coffee Auction Account fails to win
at the coffee auction or otherwise disqualified from participation in the coffee
auction(s) or the amount payable by the account holder is less than the amount
blocked in his/her/their special account, the concerned bank may release the
original or the excess amount to the account holder provided that the bank
receives a written blocked account release authorization letter from the Coffee
Auction Center;
3.5 Commercial banks may charge their customers fees for the special service
they render in connection with the opening and operation of the Special
Coffee Auction Account.
4. Scope of Application
The provisions of these directives are applicable only to the purchase of, and payment
for, coffee at the coffee auctions conducted by the Coffee Auction Center.
5. Effective Date
23
These directives shall come into force as of 1 March 2001.
COFFEE AUCTION CENTER
(Addis Ababa/Dire Dawa, as Applicable)
_________________________________
PAYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Date _________________
To: The Branch Manager
______________ Branch
______________ Bank
Dear Sir/Madam:
Re: Your Ref. No. ________________ dated _____________
We hereby authorize you to honour and pay the under listed cheque(s) from
Mr./Mrs./M/S __________ (name of the buyer) Special Coffee Auction Account to the
under listed coffee seller(s).
No.
Name of Seller
Cheque No.
Amount to be
paid
Remaining
balance
Total XXXXXXXX
(Total amount in words ______________________________)
Sincerely yours,
Signature ___________ ___ Name & Title ________________ Date ______________
Signature ___________ ___ Name & Title ________________ Date ______________
COFFEE AUCTION CENTER
24
(Addis Ababa/Dire Dawa, as Applicable)
_________________________________
BLOCKED ACCOUNT REALEASE AUTHORIZATION
Date _________________
To: The Branch Manager
______________ Branch
______________ Bank
Dear Sir/Madam:
Re: Your Ref. No. ________________ dated _____________
You are hereby authorized to release any unutilized balance blocked in the Special
Coffee Auction Account of Mr./Mrs./M/S _____________ maintained with your Branch.
Sincerely yours,
Signature ___________ ___ Name & Title ________________ Date ______________
Signature ___________ ___ Name & Title ________________ Date ______________
u<“ Ú[�u<“ Ú[�u<“ Ú[�u<“ Ú[�
¾S}TS¾S}TS¾S}TS¾S}TS———— W’É W’É W’É W’É
l. ----------------
k” ---------------
Ku<“ Ú[� T°ŸM
u<““ hà vKYM×”
(›Ç=e ›uv/É_Ǫ' }Ñu=¨<” ÃÖkS<)
------------------ v”¡ ------------------ p`”Ýõ ›„/¨/a -------------- Ku<“ Ú[� wl
¾T>ÁÅ`Ò†¨<” w` ------------) uM¿ ¾u<“ Ú[� H>dv†¨< ¨<eØ u›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^©
v”¡ SS]Á ›?eu=u=/26/2®®1 ›”kê 2 SW[ƒ ÁÑÅ SJ’<” ¾[ÒÓ×M:: -----------
25
(¾v”Ÿ< eU) u²=I S}TS— c’É Là QeŸ}Ökc¨< ¾Ñ”²w SÖ” É[e Ÿu<“ Ú[�
T°ŸK< uT>k`u¨< ¾¡õÁ õnÉ ÅwÇu?“ u}Ñu=¨< S”ÑÉ ¾}ð[S }S×ט Š¡
SW[ƒ ŸLà Ÿ}Ökc¨< H>Xw ¨Ü uTÉ[Ó Ku<“ hß KS¡ðM u²=I ¾S}TS—
c’É ÓÈ� Ñw…M:: ÃI ¾S}TS— c’É uG<Kƒ ¾v”Ÿ< vKYMדƒ c=ð[U“ ¾v”Ÿ<
TI}U c=Á`õuƒ w‰ ªÒ Õ[ªM:: uS}TS— c’Æ ¨<eØ Ÿ}Ökc¨< ¾Ñ”²w
SÖ” uLà KJ’ ¡õÁ v”Ÿ< }ÖÁm ›ÃJ”U::
ŸcLU� Ò`
ò`T ------------------- eU“ ¾Y^ SÅw ------------------------------------ k” -------------------
ò`T ------------------- eU“ ¾Y^ SÅw ------------------------------------ k” -------------------
COFFEE AUCTION
LETTER OF UNDERTAKING
To: Coffee Auction Center
Coffee and Tea Authority
(Addis Ababa/Dire Dawa, as applicable)
_________________
Dear sirs:
The _______________ (name of the bank), _____________ Branch confirms that it has blocked
Birr ____________ (Amount in words) _________________ in the Special Coffee Auction
Account of Mr./Mrs./M/S _______________ as per Article 2 of the National Bank of Ethiopia's
Directive No. SBB/26/2001 to enable him/her/them/participate in coffee auction. The _________
(name of bank) undertakes to pay coffee seller(s) up to the limit of this blocked amount from the
account of the holder mentioned above upon presentation of letter of payment authorization from
Coffee Auction Center and corresponding duly signed cheque(s) drawn against the
aforementioned account. This undertaking will be valid only if signed by two authorized
signatories of the Bank and bears the Bank's stamp. The Bank is not liable for amounts
exceeding this undertaking.
26
Truly yours,
Signature ___________ ___ Name & Title ________________ Date ______________
Signature ___________ ___ Name & Title ________________ Date ______________
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION
OF BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/27/96
Limitation on Open Foreign Currency Position of Banks
Directive No. SBB/23/97
1. Issuing Authority
This directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested in it
by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by Article 36 of
the Licensing and supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definitions
2.1 An "Open foreign Currency Position" shall mean a situation where assets
denominated in foreign currencies do not equal liabilities denominated in the
same currencies and vice versa.
2.2 A "Long Position in a foreign currency" shall mean a situation where assets
denominated in a particular foreign currency exceed liabilities denominated in
the same currency.
2.3 A "Short Position if a foreign currency" shall mean a situation where liabilities
denominated in a particular foreign currency exceed assets denominated in the
same currency.
27
2.4 An "Overall Open Foreign Currency Position" shall mean the greater of the
amount of the total long positions or the total short positions in all foreign
currencies.
2.5 The "Inter-bank foreign Exchange Rate" shall mean the rate determined in the
inter-bank foreign exchange market daily.
2.6 "Total Capital" shall include paid-up capital, legal reserve and any other
unencumbered reserves acceptable to the National Bank of Ethiopia.
2.7 "Squaring a foreign currency position" shall mean the buying from or selling of
foreign exchange to any other participant in the inter bank foreign exchange
market in order to eliminate any positions above the limit set under article 4
herein below.
2.8 "Peg balance" shall mean the minimum foreign currency balance required by a
correspondent bank as a condition for establishing a correspondent relationship.
3. Scope of Application
3.1 In computing the overall open foreign currency position all foreign currency
denominated assets and liabilities shall be taken into account, including all
memorandum items denominated in foreign currency except:
a) peg balances;
b) expired import letters of credit;
c) import letters of credit issued by the bank with the condition that
payment of the foreign currency amount under the letter of credit will be
paid by (i) external donors, or (ii) external borrowings by the importer;
d) inward bills for collection, unless Birr equivalent of the value of the
documents is actually collected;
e) outward document bills for collection (ODBC) and outward bills for
collection (OBC), unless foreign currency value of the bills is actually
collected; and
f) unsold travelers checks.
28
3.2 The overall open foreign currency position of each bank shall be assessed on a
consolidated basis, that is, including its forex bureax and its subsidiaries, if any.
4. Limitation
The overall open foreign currency position of each bank at the close of business each day
shall not exceed 15% (fifteen percent) of its total capital.
5. Computation of Overall Open Foreign Currency Position
The overall open foreign currency position shall be computed in the following manner:
a) the difference between the assets and the liabilities denominated in each foreign
currency shall be determined and categorized either as long or as short position;
b) open positions in each foreign currency as determined and categorized under "a"
herein above shall be converted into their Birr equivalents by using the buying
rate prevailing at th3e close of business each day;.
c) the birr equivalents of open positions in each foreign currency obtained under "b"
herein above are added to arrive at the total long and the total short position;
d) the greater of the total long or the total short position total capital to determine
the ratio;
e) the ratio determined under "d" herein above is compared with the limit on overall
open foreign currency position laid down under article 4 herein above.
6. Squaring of Excess Foreign Exchange Position
Banks are required to monitor their open foreign currency positions on a continuous
basis. Any excess foreign exchange position must be squared without delay.
7. Penalty
7.1 Any bank that is in breach of the provisions of article 4 of this directive shall pay
a financial penalty. The financial penalty shall be assessed on the excess amount
29
using a 10 percent annual interest rate. The penalty so assessed will be
automatically deducted on the next business day from a bank's account
maintained with the NBE.
7.2 Any bank that fails to comply with the reporting requirement specified under
article 8 herein below shall pay a penalty of Birr 1,000 per day of delay. The
penalty so assessed will be automatically deducted from the bank's account
maintained with the NBE.
8. Submission of Daily Reports to the National Bank
Each bank shall submit to the Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia a
daily report, showing the amounts of foreign currency positions as of the close of
business each day, on the next business day before 12 a.m. The report shall be submitted
in accordance with the table attached herewith, which shall be a part hereof.
9. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/23/1997 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Directive.
10. Effective Date
This Directive shall enter into force as of the 24th day of October 2001.
30
Form-SD/FX
Report on Foreign Currency Positions
In Thousands of Birr
At close of Business _____________
Reporting Bank: Contact Person Phone Fax
Balance Sheet Items Memorandum Items Open Position (2-3+4-5)-6 Birr Equivalent Open
Position
Foreign
Currency
(1)
Assets(+)*
(2)
Liabilities (-)
(3)
Assets(+)
(4)
Liabilities (-)
(5)
Peg balance
(6)
Long (+)
(7)
Short (-) (8)
Closing
Buying Rate
(9) Long (+)
(7x9=10)
Short (-)
(8x9=11)
Percent of Total C
(12)
Total Capital (13) Total Long Positions (total column 10=15)
Total Short Positions (total Column 11=16) Overall Open Foreign Currency Position Limit (15% of Line 13=14) Overall Open foreign Currency Position (the
grater of 15 or 16=17)
31
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/29/2002
Amendment of Single Borrower Loan Limit
1. Issuing Authority
This Directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested
in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by
Articles 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No.
84/1994.
2. Definition
2.1 “Affiliated Financial Institution” means a Company:
2.1.1 In which a bank, directly, owns or controls 10% or more of the voting shares
or controls in any manner the election of a majority of its directors or other
persons exercising similar function;
2.1.2 Which owns or controls in any manner, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of
the voting shares of a bank or controls in any manner the election of a
majority of the directors, or persons exercising similar function of a bank;
2.1.3 In which 50% or more of the voting shares is held, or control is held directly
or indirectly, through stock ownership or in any other manner, by the
shareholders of a bank who own or control 50% or more of the voting shares
of a bank; or
2.1.4 In which a majority of its directors, or other persons exercising similar
functions, are directors of a bank.
The term “company” as used in this definition means a bank or insurance company
and “indirect ownership or control” refers to ownership or control exercised through
ownership or control of entities that are shareholders in the same financial institution
or through similar arrangements.
2.2 “Cash collateral” means credit balances on accounts in the books of the lending
bank over which the customers have given the lending bank a formal letter of
cession and which the bank at its discretion has transferred from the customer’s
account(s) to a specific or general cash collateral account(s) or blocked.
2.3 “Cash-substitutes” shall mean:
2.3.1 A security issued by the Federal Government of Ethiopia;
2.3.2 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by the Federal
Government of Ethiopia or a non-affiliated domestic financial institution,
where the beneficiary bank maintains a current written and wee-documented
32
evaluation evidencing that the non-affiliated financial institution is financially
sound and capable of honoring the guaranty on demand with respect to
repayment of the both principal and interest, or a specific amount, and the
lending bank has not been advised of any determination by the guarantor to
deny payment under the terms of the obligation or guarantee; and
2.3.3 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by a foreign bank
with an A or above rating by Standards and Poor’s Corporation and/or by
Moody’s Investor Services in their latest rating.
2.4 “Loan” or “Advances” means any financial assets of a bank arising from a direct
or indirect advance (i.e. unplanned overdrafts, participation in loan syndication,
the purchase of loans from another lender, etc.) or commitment to advance funds
by a bank to a person that are conditioned on the obligation of the person to
repay the funds, either on a specified date or dates or on demand, usually with
interest. The term includes a contractual obligation of a bank to advance funds to
or on behalf of a person, claim evidenced by a lease financing transactions in
which the bank is the lessor, overdraft facility to be funded by the bank on behalf
of a person, revocable or irrevocable documentary letters of credit, standby letters
of credit, and guarantees or sureties issued on behalf of a borrower.
The term “person” as used in this definition and elsewhere referred in this
Directive, includes individuals, groups of individuals, partnerships, common
enterprises, share companies, joint ventures, private limited companies, public
enterprises, corporate entities or other similar business groups and companies.
2.5 “ Majority-owned Subsidiaries” means a subsidiary controlled by a business
entity holding over 50% of its capital.
2.6 “Total capital” shall mean the paid up capital, legal reserve and any other
unencumbered reserve acceptable to the National Bank of Ethiopia held by a
bank.
3. Combination of Loans
For the purpose of this Directive, a loan or extension of credit to one or more
borrowers in each of the companion categories listed below shall be combined and
shall be subject to the credit limit to one borrower:
i) A corporation, a share company, a public enterprise or any business entity
and its majority-owned subsidiaries;
ii) One or more private limited companies and
A) individuals who fully own such companies and/or spouses or relations in
the first degree of consanguinity or affinity of such individuals,
33
B) individuals who are majority-owners of such companies and/or spouses
or relation in the first degree of consanguinity or affinity of such
individuals, and
C) businesses which have a majority ownership in such companies;
iii) A partnership or joint venture and its individual general partners or
venturers;
iv) A partnership or joint venture and its limited liability partners or venturers;
v) A common enterprise and the participants therein who borrow for that
enterprise.
4. Single Borrower loan limit
The aggregate loan or extension of credit by a bank to any one borrower, whether a
natural person or business organization, shall at no time exceed 25% of the total
capital of the bank
5. Exclusion
For the purpose of this Directive, the following types of loans or extensions of credit
shall not be subject to the credit limit prescribed under article 4 hereinabove:
i) Loans fully secured by cash collateral; and
ii) Loans fully secured by cash substitutes.
6. Reporting Requirement
Reports showing month-end exposures to every single borrower that exceed 10% of
total capital of a bank shall be submitted to the Supervision Department of the
National Bank of Ethiopia with in twenty days after the end of the period for which
the data are reported. The report shall be submitted in accordance with the table
attached herewith which shall be a part thereof.
7. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/16/1996 is hereby repealed and replaced by this directive
8. Effective Date
This Directive shall enter into force as of 13th
day of May 2002
34
Monthly Return on Loans to Related Parties
List of All Related Borrowers
(in millions of Birr)
Name of Bank: _______________________
Reporting month _____________________
Approved Loan Limit Collateral
Borrower
Type of
Loan/facility2 Amount Percent of
Capital
Type3 Estimated/Face
Value
Outstanding
Balance
Status
(classification)4
1) Include all facilities extended to the borrower, be it on or off balance-sheet (i.e. overdrafts, term loans, mercandize loans, L/C facilities, guarantees, etc.) and whether
secured or clean.
2) In case the collateral is financial guarantee bond, indicate whether it is issued by affiliated or non affiliated finacial institution as defined in this directive.
3) Classified in line with provisions of article 6 of NBE Directive No. SBB/28/2002.
Prepared b: _____________________ Approved by: __________________
(name and signature) (name and signature)
Telephone: _____________________ Telephone: __________________
35
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/30/2002
Amendment of Limitation on Loans to Related Parties
1. Issuing Authority
This Directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority
vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by
Articles 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No.
84/1994.
2. Definition
2.1 “Affiliated Financial Institutions” shall mean a company:
2.1.1 In which a bank, directly, owns or controls 10% or more of the voting
shares or controls in any manner the election of a majority of its
directors or other persons exercising similar function;
2.1.2 Which owns or controls in any manner, directly or indirectly, 10% or
more of the voting shares of a bank or controls in any manner the
election of a majority of the directors, or persons exercising similar
function of a bank;
2.1.3 In which 50% or more of the voting shares is held, or control is held
directly or indirectly, through stock ownership or in any other manner,
by the shareholders of a bank who own or control 50% or more of the
voting shares of a bank; or
2.1.4 In which a majority of its directors, or other persons exercising similar
functions, are directors of a bank.
The term “company” as used in this definition means a bank or insurance
company and “indirect ownership or control” refers to ownership or control exercised
through ownership or control of entities that are shareholders in the same financial
institution or through similar arrangements.
2.2 “Cash collateral” means credit balances on accounts in the books of the
lending bank over which the customers have given the lending bank a formal
letter of cession and which the bank at its discretion has transferred from the
customer’s account(s) to a specific or general cash collateral account(s) or
blocked.
2.3 “Cash-substitutes” shall mean:
36
2.3.1 A security issued by the Federal Government of Ethiopia;
2.3.2 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by the
Federal Government of Ethiopia or a non-affiliated domestic financial
institution, where the beneficiary bank maintains a current written and
wee-documented evaluation evidencing that the non-affiliated
financial institution is financially sound and capable of honoring the
guaranty on demand with respect to repayment of the both principal
and interest, or a specific amount, and the lending bank has not been
advised of any determination by the guarantor to deny payment under
the terms of the obligation or guarantee; and
2.3.3 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by a foreign
bank with an A or above rating by Standards and Poor’s Corporation
and/or by Moody’s Investor Services in their latest rating.
2.4 “Loan” or “Advances” means any financial assets of a bank arising from a
direct or indirect advance (i.e. unplanned overdrafts, participation in loan
syndication, the purchase of loans from another lender, etc.) or commitment
to advance funds by a bank to a person that are conditioned on the obligation
of the person to repay the funds, either on a specified date or dates or on
demand, usually with interest. The term includes a contractual obligation of a
bank to advance funds to or on behalf of a person, claim evidenced by a lease
financing transactions in which the bank is the lessor, overdraft facility to be
funded by the bank on behalf of a person, revocable or irrevocable
documentary letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and guarantees or
sureties issued on behalf of a borrower.
The term “person” as used in this definition and elsewhere referred in this
Directive, includes individuals, groups of individuals, partnerships, common
enterprises, share companies, joint ventures, private limited companies, public
enterprises, corporate entities or other similar business groups and companies.
2.5 “ Majority-owned Subsidiaries” means a subsidiary controlled by a
business entity holding over 50% of its capital.
2.6 “Related Party” to a bank shall mean,
On the one hand,
A share holder, a director or a principal officer of that bank and/or the spouse
or relation in the first degree of consanguinity or affinity of such share holder,
director or principal officer; and
On the other,
A partnership, a common enterprise, a private limited company, a share
company, a joint venture, a corporation, or any other business in which the share
37
holder, director or principal officer of the bank and/or the spouse or relation in the
first degree of consanguinity or affinity of such share holder, director or principal
officer has a business interest as shareholder, director, owner or partner.
2.7 “Total capital” shall mean the paid up capital, legal reserve and any other
unencumbered reserve acceptable to the National Bank of Ethiopia held by a
bank.
3. Threshold for Treatment of Shareholders as Related Party
As regards shareholders, only those shareholders of a bank with holdings of 5% or
more of a bank’s subscribed capital shall be treated as related party and shall be
subject to the provisions of this Directive.
4. Limitations
4.1 Banks shall not extend loans to related parties on preferential terms with
respect to conditions, interest rates and repayment periods other than the
terms and conditions normally applied to other borrowers.
4.2 The aggregate sum of loans extended or permitted to be outstanding directly
or indirectly to one related party at any one time shall not exceed 15% of the
total capital of the bank.
4.3 The aggregate sum of loans extended or permitted to be outstanding directly
or indirectly to all related parties at any one time shall not exceed 35% of the
total capital of the bank.
5. Exclusion
For the purpose of this Directive, the following types of loans or extensions of credit
shall not be subject to the credit limit prescribed under article 4 hereinabove:
iii) Loans fully secured by cash collateral; and
iv) Loans fully secured by cash substitutes.
6 Responsibility of Identifying Related Parties
Identification of related parties shall be responsibility of each individual bank.
7. Reporting Requirement
Reports showing month-end exposures to each related party shall be submitted to the
Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia with in twenty days after
the end of the period for which the data are reported. The report shall be submitted in
accordance with the table attached herewith which shall be a part thereof.
8. Repeal
38
Directive No. SBB/17/96 is hereby repealed and replaced by this directive
9. Effective Date
This Directive shall enter into force as of 13th
day of May 2002
39
30 Monthly Return on Loans to Related Parties
List of All Related Borrowers
(in millions of Birr)
Name of Bank: _______________________
Reporting month ____________________
Approved Loan Limit Collateral
Borrower
Type of
Loan/facility2 Amount Percent of
Capital
Type3 Estimated/Face
Value
Outstanding
Balance
Status
(classification)4
1) Defined in line with Article 2.6 of NBE Directive No. Sbb/30/2002.
2) Include all facilities extended to the borrower, be it on or off balance-sheet (i.e. overdrafts, term loans, mercandize loans, L/C facilities, guarantees, etc.) and
whether secured or clean.
3) In case the collateral is financial guarantee bond, indicate whether it is issued by affiliated or non affiliated finacial institution as defined in this directive.
4) Classified in line with provisions of article 6 of NBE Directive No. SBB/28/2002.
Prepared b: _____________________ Approved by: __________________
(name and signature) (name and signature)
40
Telephone: _____________________
Telephone: ____________________
Directive No. SBB/31/2002
Amendment of
Directive for the Proper Operation of
Current Account and Cheque
Whereas, the proper use of current accounts and the function of cheque as an instrument
of payment is crucial in a modern society;
Whereas, cheque as a negotiable instrument is recognized and given legal protection
under Ethiopian law;
Whereas, the National Bank of Ethiopia is entrusted with the responsibility of creating
and maintaining an efficient and sound financial system;
Now, therefore, the National Bank of Ethiopia has issued these Directives pursuant to
the authority vested in it under Article 61 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No.
83/1994.
1. Definitions
In these Directives, unless the context otherwise requires,
1.1 "Cheque" shall have the meaning ascribed to it under the Ethiopian
Commercial Code.
1.2 "Current Account" shall mean an active account on which cheques are
drawn and to which deposits are made and credits paid.
1.3 "Banks" shall mean all banks licensed and operating under proclamation
No. 84/1994.
1.4 "Delinquent List" shall mean the register held by the National Bank of
Ethiopia, indicating the names of current account holders whose cheques
have been dishonored repeatedly and whose accounts are closed by banks.
1.5 "Dishonored Cheque" shall mean a cheque drawn without sufficient
cover and is rejected by banks for this reason.
41
1.6 "Drawer" shall mean a person who signs a cheque giving an order to a
bank to pay the amount mentioned therein.
1.7 "Persons" shall include physical and juridical persons.
2. Bank' Action on Dishonoring Cheques
2.1 Banks shall maintain a register where all cheques dishonored for the first
time shall be registered. Banks shall notify drawers of the dishonored
cheques of such registration;
2.2 The register shall include the name and address of the bank and its branch,
the name and address of drawer, the date on which the cheque was
dishonored, the amount of the dishonored cheque and the action taken by
the bank;
2.3 Banks shall regularly check the register under 2.1 above and upon
dishonoring a cheque drawn by a current account holder whose name
appears on the register, they shall levy a fine of 5% of the amount
appearing on the dishonored cheque;
2.4 Upon dishonoring a cheque drawn by an account holder fined under 2.3
above, banks shall close the current account of such person at all their
branches.
3. Opening of Current Accounts
Banks shall, upon opening of current accounts,
3.1 verify that the name of the person requesting to open a current account
does not appear in the dishonored cheques register or in the list of persons
whose current accounts have been closed that is circulated by the National
Bank of Ethiopia;
3.2 check the memorandum and articles of association of juridical persons to
verify that the name of the members do not appear in the delinquent list;
3.3 inform their customers about the use and purpose of current account and
cheque and the consequences of misusing it; and
3.4 include in the current account deposit agreement a clause about the
measures that shall be taken when there is misuse of cheque.
4. Reporting
42
Banks shall send a report to the National Bank of Ethiopia, Supervision
Department, regarding customers whose current accounts are closed on the
following three working days from the date of such closing. the report shall
include the name and address of the drawer, the name of the branch where the
account was held and the date on which the account was closed.
5. Delinquent List
5.1 The National Bank of Ethiopia shall keep a delinquent list of the names of
reported misusers of current accounts;
5.2 The National Bank of Ethiopia shall send information to Banks about
persons whose names appear on the delinquent list;
5.3 Banks shall deny service of current account to customers whose names
appear on the delinquent list and shall close all already existing current
accounts under such names.
6. Conditions for Deletion of Names of Misusers of Current Accounts from the
Delinquent List
6.1 The NBE may delete the name of a current account misuser from the
Delinquent List stated under article 5 of this directive if such person
fulfills all of the following conditions;
6.1.1 Is suspended from use of current account for a minimum of 18
months from the date of closure of the account or produces a
guarantee valid for 18 consecutive months from a domestic bank
explicitly stating that the bank shall cover and effect full payment
against any one cheque drawn by such person at any one time;
6.1.2 Presents satisfactory evidence to the NBE with respect to full
settlement of all dishonored cheques and penalty charges related to
the earlier closure of current account, and
6.1.3 Files with the NBE a written application, with a copy to the
Federal Police Commission, indicating his/her intention and
commitment to operate current account honestly and carefully in
the future.
6.2 The NBE may authorize all banks to provide current account service to the
person whose name has been deleted from the delinquent list.
6.3 Banks shall maintain a separate register, wherein they book names of
persons deleted from NBE's delinquent list.
43
6.4 Upon dishonoring at any one time a cheque drawn by a person who has
been provided with current account service in line with the authorization
obtained from the NBE under article 6.2 and recorded in register book
established in accordance with article 6.3 of this directive, banks shall i)
levy a fine of 10% of the amount appearing on the dishonored cheque, and
ii) automatically close current accounts of such person in all their branches
and report to the NBE within the following three working days.
6.5 The NBE shall reenter the name of a person whose current account has
been closed in line with article 6.4 of this directive into its delinquent list
and shall inform all banks about the closure of current account of such
person for the second time. Banks shall apply all requirements set out
under articles 3 and 5.3 of this Directive with respect to such person:
6.6 Persons whose names are re-entered in the delinquent list for the second
time and subsequently shall be eligible to use current account service if
they fulfill the conditions specified in sub-article 6.1 of this directive.
7. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/25/200 is hereby repealed and replaced by this directive.
8. Effective Date
These Directives shall enter into force as of the 17th
day of June 2002.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
Directive No. SBB/32/2002
AMENDMENT OF PROVISIONS
1. Issuing Authority
This Directive is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested
in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by
Articles 15(1) and 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business
Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Purpose of Directive
44
The purpose of this Directive is to provide uniform guidelines to banks to assure that:
2.1 Loans or advances are regularly reviewed and classified in a manner
consistent with regulatory standards;
2.2 Loans or advances which are not performing in accordance with
contractual repayment terms are recognized and reported as past due in a manner
consistent with regulatory standards;
2.3 Accrued but uncollected interest on loans or advances is accounted for in accordance with international accounting and
regulatory standards; and
2.4 Timely and adequate provisions are made to the Provisions for Loan Losses
Account in order to accurately reflect the risk inherent in lending activities and to
ensure that disclosed capital and earnings performance are accurately reflected.
3. Definitions
3.1 “Affiliated Financial Institution” means a “company”: 3.1.1 In which a bank, directly or indirectly, owns or controls 10% (ten percent) or more of the voting
shares or controls in any manner the election of a majority of its directors or other persons exercising similar
functions;
3.1.2 In which 50% (fifty percent) or more of the voting shares is held, or
control is held, directly or indirectly, through stock ownership or in any other manner,
by the shareholders of a bank who own or control 50% (fifty percent) or more of the
voting shares of a bank;
3.1.3 In which a majority of its directors, or other persons exercising similar
functions, are directors of a bank; or
3.1.4 Which owns or controls in any manner, directly or indirectly, 10% (ten
percent) or more of the voting shares of a bank or controls in any manner the election
of a majority of the directors, or persons exercising similar functions of a bank.
The term “company” as used in this definition means a bank or insurance
company and “indirect ownership or control “ refers to ownership or control
45
exercised through ownership or control of entities that are shareholders in the
same financial institution or through similar arrangements.
3.2 “Capitalized Interest” means any accrued and uncollected interest that has been
added to the principal amount of loans or advances at a payment date or maturity;
it also includes uncollected interest that is rolled-over into new loans or advances.
3.3 “Cash Collateral” means credit balances on accounts in the books of the lending
bank over which customers have given the lending bank a formal letter of cession
and which the bank at its discretion has transferred from the customer’s
account(s) to a specific or general cash collateral account(s) or blocked.
3.4 “Cash-substitutes” include:
3.4.1 A security issued by the Federal Government of Ethiopia;
3.4.2 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by the Federal
Government of Ethiopia or a non-affiliated domestic financial institution,
where the beneficiary bank maintains a current written and well-
documented evaluation evidencing that the non-affiliated financial
institution is financially sound and capable of honoring the guaranty on
demand with respect to repayment of both principal and interest, or a
specific amount, and the lending bank has not been advised of any
determination by the guarantor to deny payment under the terms of the
obligation or guarantee; and
3.4.3 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by a foreign
bank with an A or above rating by Standard and Poor's Corporation and/or by
Moody's Investor Services in their latest rating.
3.4.4 Other liquid and readily marketable securities approved in writing by the
National Bank of Ethiopia and which are held in the vaults of the lending bank.
Provided, any loan or advance unconditionally guaranteed in writing by an
affiliated financial institution as of the issuance of this Directive shall continue to
be treated as a “cash-substitute” until the maturity of the loan or advance as stated
in the loan contract/agreement, or the loan or advance is otherwise restructured, or
has its terms or maturity modified, or the loan or advance is renewed. At which
time, such affiliated financial institution guarantee shall no longer be considered a
“cash-substitute” for purposes of this Directive.
3.5 “Current” as used in reference to “current written,” or similar uses, means
information or documentation having an issuance date not more than 12 (twelve)
calendar months old.
46
3.6 “In Process of Collection” means that the collection of loans or advances is
proceeding in due course in a timely manner either through:
3.6.1 Enforcement of judgments against the borrower that is reasonably assured to result in full repayment
of the loan or advance (principal plus accrued interest) within 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days from the date the
loan or advance first became past due; or
3.6.2 Commencement of collection efforts not involving legal action but which are reasonably assured to
result in full repayment of the loan or advance (principal plus accrued interest) within 180 (one-hundred-eighty)
days from the date the loan or advance first became past due; or
3.6.3 Restoration of the loan or advance to a current status through payment, in cash, of all past due
amounts within 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days from the date the loan or advance first became past due is
reasonably assured.
3.7 “Loans” or “Advances” means any financial assets of a bank arising from a
direct or indirect advance (i.e. unplanned overdrafts, participation in loan
syndication, the purchase of loans from another lender, etc.) or commitment to
advance funds by a bank to a person that are conditioned on the obligation of the
person to repay the funds, either on a specified date or dates or on demand,
usually with interest. The term includes a contractual obligation of a bank to
advance funds to or on behalf of a person, claim evidenced by a lease financing
transaction in which the bank is the lessor, and an overdraft facility to be funded
by the bank on behalf of a person. The term does not include accrued but
uncollected interest or discounted interest.
The term “person” as used in this definition and elsewhere referenced in this
Directive, includes individuals, groups of individuals, partnerships, and corporate
entities or other similar business groups and companies.
3.8 “Net Recoverable Value” means the most probable value of a loan or advance
which will be realized from the sale of collateral securing the loan or advance in a
competitive and open market. For purposes of this Directive, the most probable
value of a loan or advance recoverable from the sale of collateral securing a loan
or advance shall be the outstanding principal balance of a loan multiplied by the
“average recovery rate” of a bank for loans or advances secured by collateral.
3.8.1 For purposes of determining the outstanding principal balance of a loan,
accrued interest (limited to 90 days) may be added to the outstanding principal
balance.
3.8.2 The term “average recovery rate” as used in this definition means the ratio
of (i) aggregate net cash receipts (after deduction of any expenses
associated with the sale of the collateral which may have been necessary
to place the collateral in a saleable condition) of a bank over the preceding
12 (twelve) consecutive months from the sale of collateral which have
been seized, foreclosed, repossessed or otherwise acquired by a bank in
satisfaction of loans or advances previously granted to (ii) the aggregate
outstanding principal balance of the loans or advances backed by the
47
collateral at the time the collateral was seized, foreclosed, repossessed or
otherwise acquired by the bank.
3.8.3 In determining the average recovery rate as set out under 3.8.2 herein
above, the net cash receipt from the sale of collateral backing each
outstanding non-performing loan that shall be used in the computation
shall not exceed 100% of the outstanding non-performing loan.
3.9 “Non-accrual Status” means that a loan or advance has been placed on a cash
basis for financial reporting purposes. Interest on such loans or advances accrued
on the books of the bank, or for which a specific reserve (such as a suspended
interest account) has been established by the bank to offset the full amount of
interest being accrued, shall not be taken into income unless as otherwise
provided in this Directive.
3.10 “Non-performing” means loans or advances whose credit quality has
deteriorated such that full collection of principal and/or interest in accordance
with the contractual repayment terms of the loan or advance is in question.
3.10.1 For purposes of this Directive, loans or advances with pre-established repayment programs are non-
performing when principal and/or interest is due and uncollected for 90 (ninety) days or more beyond the
scheduled payment date or maturity.
3.10.2 For purposes of this Directive, overdrafts and loans or advances that do not have a pre-established
repayment program shall be considered as non-performing when:
a) The debt remains outstanding for 90 (ninety) consecutive days or more
beyond the scheduled payment date or maturity;
b) The debt exceeds the borrower’s approved limit for 90 (ninety)
consecutive days or more;
c) Interest is due and uncollected for 90 (ninety) days or more; or
d) For overdrafts, the account has been inactive for 90 (ninety)
consecutive days and/or deposits are insufficient to cover the interest
capitalized during the period;
3.10.3 For purposes of this Directive, the entire principal balance of loans or advances outstanding
exhibiting the characteristics described under 3.10.1 and 3.10.2 shall be considered as non-performing.
3.11 “Overdraft” means a deposit account on the books of the bank with a debit
balance.
3.12 “Provisions for Loan Losses Account” means a balance sheet valuation account
established through charges to provision expense in the income statement in
respect of possible losses in the loans or advances portfolio.
3.13 “Renegotiated Loans or Advances” means loans or advances which have been
refinanced, rescheduled, rolled-over, or otherwise modified at favorable terms and
48
conditions for the borrower because of weaknesses in the borrower’s financial
condition and/or ability to repay.
3.14 “Suspended Interest Account” means an account where previously accrued but
uncollected interest on loans or advances required to be placed on non-accrual
status is reserved out of the income of the bank.
3.15 “Total capital” shall mean the paid up capital, legal reserve and any other
unencumbered reserve acceptable to the National Bank of Ethiopia held by a bank
3.16 “Well-Secured” means that a loan or advance is secured by:
3.16.1 Cash collateral or cash-substitutes sufficient to repay the full debt (principal plus accrued interest);
for purposes of this Directive, sufficiency shall include proper legal documentation evidencing the bank’s claim
on the collateral; and/or
3.16.2 A guaranty from a financially responsible third party where the beneficiary bank maintains a current
written and well-documented evaluation evidencing that the guarantor is capable of honoring the guaranty on
demand; for purposes of this Directive, a guaranty must be (i) independently confirmed in writing by the
guarantor, (ii) unconditional, and (iii) payable on demand.
4. Responsibility for Loan Review and Specific Requirements
4.1 The board of directors of each bank is responsible for establishing a loan review
system which provides for the accurate and timely recognition of problem or
deteriorating loans or advances, assuring the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan
Losses Account, and assuring that accrued but uncollected interest reflected on
the books of the bank are in accordance with the requirements laid out in this
Directive.
4.2 The board of directors of each bank shall assure that a review is made of the quality of the bank’s loans or advances
portfolio on a regular basis, but no less than once each calendar quarter. At the end of each calendar quarter, or more
frequently if warranted, the board of directors shall require the principal officer(s) of the bank to take appropriate measures
in response to the findings of the loan review function to:
4.2.1 Accurately reflect earnings by assuring that all loans or advances categorized as non-performing in
accordance with the requirements laid out in this Directive are placed on non-accrual status and accrued but
uncollected interest has been reversed out of the bank’s income;
4.2.2 Assure that the Provisions for Loan Losses Account is adequate to absorb potential losses in
accordance with the requirements laid out in this Directive; and
4.2.3 Correct problems, either in individual loans or advances, loan underwriting practices, compliance
with prudent lending standards and the board-approved lending policy, or other credit administration
weaknesses as may be identified by the loan review function, within a specified time frame.
4.3 The board of directors of each bank shall maintain adequate records
supporting its evaluation of potential losses in the loans or advances portfolio and
the entries made to reflect earnings and the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan
49
Losses Account; such records shall be made available to examining personnel of
the National Bank of Ethiopia upon request.
4.4 The loan review function shall assure on an on-going basis, at a minimum,
that:
4.4.1 Lending activities are in compliance with prudent written lending standards as approved and adopted
by the board of directors;
4.4.2 The board of directors is adequately informed of the risks and potential
loss exposure in outstanding loans or advances;
4.4.3 Problem or deteriorating loans or advances are properly and timely
identified, classified, and placed on non-accrual status in accordance with the
requirements laid out in this Directive;
4.4.4 Appropriate provisions are made to the Provisions for Loan Losses
Account for loans or advances classified in accordance with the
requirements laid out in this Directive; and
4.4.5 Uncollectible non-performing loans or advances are written off as
appropriate.
4.5 The loan review function shall regularly and on an ongoing basis review
all loans or advances which exceed 5% (five percent) of a bank’s total capital to a
single borrower, calculated in accordance with in the Single Borrower Loan
Limit, all loans or advances required to be placed on non-accrual status in
accordance with the requirements laid out in this Directive, and a sampling of the
remaining loans or advances portfolio to determine that loans or advances
reflected as performing on the books of the bank are in fact performing pursuant
to the requirements and definitions laid out in this Directive.
50
4.6 The loan review function shall be performed by the board of directors of
each bank or a group of individuals to be designated by the board of directors,
who are knowledgeable in credit analysis methodologies and who are not
involved in the lending activities of the bank. In the latter case the group shall on
a regular basis, but not less than once each calendar quarter, report its findings
directly to the board of directors in writing.
5. Placement of Loans or Advances on Non-accrual Status
5.1 All loans or advances categorized under 6.1.3, 6.1.4 and 6.1.5 in
accordance with the requirements laid out in this Directive shall be placed on non-
accrual status effective January 1, 2004 unless the loans or advances are (i) well-
secured and (ii) in process of collection. Notwithstanding this provision a bank
which has already placed its non-performing loans on non-accrual status shall
continue to do so.
5.2 Accrued but uncollected interest being carried on the books for loans or
advances which are required to be placed on non-accrual status in accordance
with the requirements laid out in this Directive shall be eliminated by the end of
the calendar quarter in which the loans or advances are required to be placed on
non-accrual status, but in no event later than the fiscal year-end date of the bank,
whichever is sooner.
5.3 A non-performing loan or advance placed on non-accrual status may be
restored to accrual status only when:
5.3.1 None of the outstanding principal and/or interest is past due; and,
51
5.3.2 For renegotiated loans or advances, where all past due interest is paid by
the borrower in cash at the time of renegotiation and the loan or advance is
not classified as Substandard in accordance with 6.1.6. of this Directive;
and
5.3.3 The bank expects full repayment of the remaining contractual principal
and interest as evidenced by a current written and well-documented evaluation of the
borrower’s creditworthiness.
5.4 Banks shall report to the National Bank of Ethiopia on a quarterly basis
loans or advances which exceed 5% (five percent) of the bank's capital
that have been restored from non-accrual to accrual status.
5.5 If a bank has multiple loans outstanding to a single borrower as calculated in accordance with the Single Borrower Loan Limit,
and one loan or advance meets the criteria for non-accrual status, then the bank shall prepare a current written evaluation of
the borrower’s creditworthiness evidencing that repayment prospects for the other loans or advances are reasonably assured;
should such written creditworthiness evaluation suggest that repayment prospects for the other loans or advances are in
question or otherwise uncertain, then all such loans or advances to the borrower shall be placed on non-accrual status
regardless of any requirements laid out in this Directive.
6. Classification of Loans or Advances
6.1. For purposes of this Directive, banks shall classify all loans and advances,
whether such loans or advances have pre-established repayment programs or not,
into the following five classification categories using the criteria described below:
6.1.1 Pass
Loans or advances in this category are fully protected by the current
financial and paying capacity of the borrower and are not subject to
criticism. In general, any loan or advance, or portion thereof, which is fully
secured, both as to principal and interest, by cash or cash-substitutes, shall
be classified under this category regardless of past due status or other
adverse credit factors.
6.1.2 Special Mention
Any loan or advance past due 30 (thirty) days or more, but less
than
90(ninety) days shall be classified Special Mention.
6.1.3 Substandard
52
Non-performing loans or advances past due 90 (ninety) days or more but
less than 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days shall, at a minimum, be classified
Substandard;
6.1.4 Doubtful
Non-performing loans or advances past due 180 (one-hundred-eighty)
days or more but less than 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days shall be
classified, at a minimum, as Doubtful.
6.1.5 Loss
Non-performing loans or advances past due 360 (three-hundred-sixty)
days or more shall be classified Loss.
6.1.6 Without prejudice to the classification criteria used for the Sub-Standard
category set out under 6.1.3 herein above, the following non-performing
loans and advances shall be categorized as Substandard:
a) Renegotiated term loans unless equivalent of all past due interest is
paid by the borrower in cash at the time of renegotiation and the
following payments are made by the borrower on a consistent and
timely basis in accordance with the restructured terms of the loan or
advance:
i) in the case of term loans with monthly installment repayments, at
least 3 (three) consecutive repayments;
ii) in the case of term loans with quarterly installment repayments, at
least 3 (three) consecutive repayments;
iii) in the case of loans with semi-annual installment repayments, at
least 2 (two) consecutive repayments.
b) Renegotiated non-performing overdraft facilities unless equivalent of all past due interest is paid by the
borrower in cash at the time of renegotiation and the account shows at a minimum:
i) a nil balance at least once; or
ii) a turnover rate of once the approved limit.
c) Renegotiated non-performing merchandize loans unless physical
inventory of the merchandize taken by the bank at the time of
renegotiation shows that the outstanding principal loan and interest
thereof are fully covered and the safety margin determined following
the inventory is at least not lower than the margin stated in the loan
contract entered into by the bank and the borrower at the time of initial
extension of the loan.
53
6.2 Notwithstanding the classification criteria laid out under 6.1 herein above,
loans or advances may be subject to more severe classification by examiners
of the National Bank of Ethiopia if the actual condition of the loan or
advance warrants such classification. Conditions that warrant more severe
classification may include, but are not limited to: (i) significant departure
from the primary source of repayment; (ii) repayment terms which are too
liberal or inconsistent with the purpose and nature of the loan or advance
and/or collateral held; (iii) delinquencies which have been technically cured
by modifying the repayment terms, refinancing or renewing the loan or
advance, or advancing additional funds for the purpose of meeting
repayment requirements on an existing loan or advance.
7. Provisioning Requirements for Loans or Advances
7.1 All banks shall maintain a Provisions for Loan Losses Account which
shall be created by charges to provision expense in the income statement and shall
be maintained at a level adequate to absorb potential losses in the loans or
advances portfolio. In determining the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan
Losses Account, provisions may be attributed to individual loans or advances or
groups of loans or advances.
7.2 The Provisions for Loan Losses Account shall always have a credit
balance. Additions to or reductions of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account
shall be made only through charges to provisions in the income statement
7.3 Banks shall maintain the following minimum provision percentages
against the outstanding principal amount of each loan or advance classified in
accordance with the criteria for the classification of loans or advances as laid out
under 6.1 herein above:
Classification Category: Minimum Provision:
7.3.1. “Pass” (in accordance with the following build
up in minimum required provisions)
54
(a) by December 31, 2002 0.5%
(b) by June 30, 2003 0.75%
(c) Effective January 2004 1%
7.3.2. “Special Mention” (in accordance with the following build
up in minimum required provisions)
(a) by December 31, 2002 1%
(b) by June 30, 2003 2%
(c) Effective January 2004 3%
7.3.3. “Substandard”
(a) Until December 31, 2003 25%
(b) Effective January 2004 20%
7.3.4. “Doubtful” 50%
7.3.5. “Loss” 100%
7.4 Where reliable information, such as (i) historical loan loss experience, (ii) current economic conditions, (iii)
delinquency trends, (iv) ineffectiveness of lending policies and/or collection procedures, or (v) lack of timeliness and
accuracy in the loan review function, suggests that losses are likely to be more than the above minimum provision
percentages, banks may be required to maintain larger provisions.
7.5 The minimum provision requirements for each classification category here in above shall be applied against the
total outstanding principal balance, not against the amount of past due payments, for each loan or advance, or portion
thereof, classified regardless of whether the loan or advance is analyzed and provided for individually or as part of a group.
7.6 Before applying the minimum provision percentages laid out under 7.3.3, 7.3.4
and 7.3.5 herein above, banks may deduct from the outstanding non-performing
loans or advances:
7.6.1 any accrued but uncollected interest held in a suspended interest
account (by debiting this account), cash collateral and cash substitutes
held as collateral; and
7.6.2 in the case of loans secured by physical collateral:
a) Until 31 December 2003, 67% (sixty-seven percent) of the estimated
value of the collateral backing the non-performing loan, provided the
estimated value of the collateral used for this purpose shall not
exceed 100% (one hundred percent) of the outstanding non-performing
loan;
b) starting from 1 January 2004, net recoverable value.
7.7 Required provisions computed in accordance with 7.6.2.a. herein above shall be set
aside in the following manner:
7.7.1 at least 50% (fifty percent) of the required provisions by June 30, 2002;
7.7.2 at least 70% (seventy percent) of the required provisions by December
31, 2002;
7.7.3 at least 85% (eighty five percent) of required provisions by June 30, 2003;
and
7.7.4 100% (hundred percent) of the required provisions by December 31, 2003.
55
7.7.5 Notwithstanding the percentages set under items 7.7.1, 7.7.2 and 7.7.3
herein above, the provisions to be set aside shall not be lower than those
held prior to the coming into force of this Directive.
7.8 Provisions required to be maintained against non-performing loans or advances
classified in accordance with the requirements of this Directive may only be reduced by a bank when:
7.8.1 Cash payments on the loan or advance are received in full; or
7.8.2 A current written and well-documented evaluation of the borrower’s
creditworthiness clearly and unquestionably demonstrates that repayment
prospects have improved and are reasonably assured; and repayment terms on the loan or advance are consistent
with other loans or advances being made by the bank and in accordance with guidelines laid out in the board-
approved loan policy; or
7.8.3 The loan is not classified as Substandard in accordance with article 6.1.6. of this Directive.
8. Examiner Review
8.1 Each bank shall maintain adequate records in support of its evaluation of potential loss exposure in the loans or
advances portfolio and of the entries made to ensure an adequate Provisions for Loan Losses Account which shall be made
available to examining personnel of the National Bank of Ethiopia upon request to assess the reasonableness of the bank’s
loss estimation procedures, the reliability of the information on which estimates are based, and the adequacy of the
Provisions for Loan Losses Account.
8.2 Should examining personnel in applying the requirements of this Directive and after discussions with the
principal officer(s) of the bank find the Provisions for Loan Losses Account to be inadequate by more than 10% (ten
percent) when compared to the findings of an on-site examination, the board of directors shall within 30 (thirty) days of
such notice by the National Bank of Ethiopia of any deficiency in the Provisions for Loan Losses Account require the
principal officer(s) to record the appropriate entries to increase the balance of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account to a
level which is within 10% (ten percent) of the estimated amount of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account determined by
examining personnel of the National Bank of Ethiopia.
8.3 In the event of material disagreements between examining personnel of the National Bank of Ethiopia and the
principal officer(s) of the bank regarding the appropriateness of additional provisions needed to the Provisions for Loan
Losses Account, the board of directors may appeal to the National Bank of Ethiopia. Notwithstanding this appeal, it is
incumbent on the principal officer(s) of the bank to attend all loan discussions and meetings during on-site inspections in
order to be fully apprised of examiner concerns with respect to all classified loans or advances.
9. Other Provisioning Requirements
9.1 Provision for depreciation of fixed assets shall be made out of the annual income of a bank in accordance with
the law.
9.2 Operating and accumulated losses shall be provided for from the annual net profit until such losses are fully
covered.
9.3 The value of any assets lodged or pledged to secure a liability, as indicated under Article 15(1)(d) of
Proclamation No. 84/1994, shall be fully provided for upon the lodging or pledging of any asset.
9.4 Preliminary expenses representing expenses relating to organization or extension or the purchase of business or
good will and including share underwriting commission shall be fully provided for within 5 (five) years.
56
9.5 Any uncollectible claims, other than loans or advances, shall be written off as other operating expense of the
bank as they are identified.
10. Application and Interpretation of Directive
All loans or advances held by a bank must be accounted for and categorized in accordance with the requirements laid out in this
Directive. No interpretation of this Directive shall be permitted unless confirmed in writing by the National Bank of Ethiopia. In
recording a loan or advance not covered in principle by the requirements laid out in this Directive, a bank shall make a written request
to the National Bank of Ethiopia to confirm the proper application of the requirements laid out in this Directive.
11. Reporting
Banks shall submit to the Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia a quarterly report on loan classification and
provisioning in accordance with the table attached with this Directive which shall be part of the Directive.
12. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/28/2002 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Directive.
13. Effective Date
This Directive shall enter into force as of the 1st day of September 2002.
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSSINESS
Directive No. SBB/35/2004
Amendment of
Penalty for Non-compliance with the
Directives of the National Bank of Ethiopia
Directive No. SBB/20/96
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority
vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and
57
Article 20(3) (d) of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation
No. 84/1994.
2. Penalty
2.1 Any bank that fails to comply with the requirements of any of the
Directives of the National Bank of Ethiopia, excluding Directive No.
SBB/14/96, shall be subject to a penalty of Birr10,000 (ten Thousand Birr)
for each violation.
2.2 The National Bank of Ethiopia may, in addition to the penalty indicated
under 2.1 above, take any other measures it considers necessary.
3. Waiver
The National Bank of Ethiopia may waive the penalty on grounds that it considers to
be reasonable.
4. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/20/96 is hereby repealed and replaced by these directives.
These Directives shall enter into force as of 1st day of March 2004.
Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business
Credit Information Sharing
Directive No. SBB/36/2004
Whereas adequate and timely information that enables a satisfactory assessment of the
creditworthiness of borrowers applying for a bank loan is crucial for making prudent
lending decisions;
Whereas prudent lending decisions made on the basis of adequate information on the
creditworthiness of borrowers are one of the principal factors in ensuring the financial
soundness of banks;
58
Whereas there is still serious difficulty in Ethiopia of getting adequate and timely
information on prospective borrowers that facilitates the making of such prudent lending
decisions;
Whereas one of the means for alleviating this difficulty of getting adequate and timely
information on prospective borrowers is the establishment of a Credit Information Center
where relevant information on borrowers is pooled and made available to lending banks;
Whereas hitherto no such Center has been established;
Now, therefore, in line with the powers vested in it by article 36 of the Licensing and
Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994, the National Bank of
Ethiopia has issued these directives to establish such a Credit Information Center.
1. Definitions
For the purpose of these directives:
1.1 “Banks” shall mean business entities licensed and supervised by the National
Bank of Ethiopia in accordance with the Licensing and Supervision of
Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994;
1.2 “Central Database” shall mean the Credit Information Database maintained
by the Credit Information Center of the National Bank of Ethiopia;
1.3 “Credit Information” shall mean all information about a borrower specified
in the Data Input Requirement attached to these directives;
1.4 “Credit Information Center” shall mean the Center located in the
Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia;
1.5 “Defaulter” shall mean a borrower whose outstanding loans have been
classified as “substandard” and/or “doubtful” and/or “loss” in accordance with
Directive No. SBB/32/2002 of the National Bank of Ethiopia;
1.6 “Loans or Advances” shall mean any financial assets of a bank arising from a
direct or indirect advance (i.e. unplanned overdrafts, participation in loan
syndication, the purchase of loans from another lender, etc.) or commitment to
advance funds by a bank to a person that are conditioned on the obligation of
the person to repay the funds, either on a specified date or dates or on demand,
usually with interest which are approved and outstanding as of the reporting
date;
59
1.7 “Online System” shall mean a system whereby provision of input data,
updating and correction of input data and other related activities are carried
out electronically through computer networks;
1.8 “User Group” shall mean banks and the National Bank of Ethiopia.
2. Modus Operandi of the Credit Information Sharing System
2.1 Banks shall provide, alter and update credit information on each and every
one of their borrowers using online system;
2.2 Upon written request by banks, the Supervision Department of the National
Bank of Ethiopia shall provide to the requesting bank, in writing, all credit
information available in the Central Database on a prospective borrower
within three working days from the date of receipt of the request;
2.3 Access to the Central Database shall be restricted to the user group.
3. Role and Responsibility of the National Bank of Ethiopia
3.1 The role of the National Bank of Ethiopia shall be restricted to administering
the Credit Information Sharing system, providing in writing credit information
on borrowers available at Credit Information Center to banks, ensuring that
access to online system to update or alter credit information is given only to
authorized persons and ensuring that the system is operating smoothly and
reliably;
3.2 The National Bank of Ethiopia shall not be responsible for any damages,
claims or liabilities that may arise as a result of inaccurate, misleading or
incomplete credit information on borrowers supplied to the Credit Information
Center by individual banks and shared, through the National Bank of Ethiopia,
with other banks.
4. Obligations of Each Bank
4.1 Each bank shall provide, electronically, the initial credit and other related
information to the Credit Information Center on each and every one of its
borrower in such detail as specified in the Data Input Requirement attached to
these directives, which shall be part of these directives;
60
4.2 Banks are encouraged to update, electronically, their credit information on
each and every one of existing borrowers provided to the Credit Information
Center on an on-going basis but each bank shall update such information at
least once a month. In the case of the latter, the updating, showing positions as
of the close of each month, shall be made within 30 (thirty) days from the
close of each month;
4.3 Each bank shall designate at least two officers who shall be responsible for
providing and updating input data and for making written enquiries to the
National Bank of Ethiopia on prospective borrowers. Each bank shall
communicate to the Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia
in writing the full names and telephone numbers of such officers. If such
officers are replaced, each bank shall promptly communicate the full names
and telephone numbers of the replacements to the Supervision Department;
4.4 Banks are encouraged to obtain credit information from the Credit
Information Center on prospective borrowers irrespective of the size of the
loan. However, from the effective date of these directives, no bank shall
extend new, or renew, reschedule or refinance existing, loans or advances
equivalent to, or above, Birr 200,000 (two hundred thousand) without first
obtaining credit information on borrowers from the Credit Information Center;
4.5 From the effective date of these directives no bank shall extend new loans or
advances to a defaulter in any form whatsoever;
4.6 The provisions of sub-article 4.5 herein above shall have no effect on sub-
article 2.1(b) of the National Bank of Ethiopia Directive No. SBB/34/2004 on
Establishment and Operation of Export Credit Guarantee Scheme;
4.7 Each bank shall be fully responsible for providing accurate, complete and
timely credit information to the Credit Information Center. In cases where
errors have been made, such errors shall be corrected promptly by the
concerned bank;
4.8 Each bank shall be fully responsible for any damages, claims or liabilities that
may arise as a result of providing inaccurate, misleading or incomplete credit
information to the Credit Information Center or failure to provide,
inadvertently or otherwise, information to the Center that should have been
provided in line with these directives;
4.9 Each bank shall use the credit information on borrowers obtained from the
Central Database of the Credit Information Center only and only for making a
61
lending decision. Such information shall be treated with utmost confidentiality
and shall not be disclosed to any third party or used for any other purpose;
4.10 Each bank shall be fully responsible for any damages, claims or liabilities that
may arise as a result of disclosure of credit information on borrowers obtained
from the Credit Information Center to third parties or use of that information
for purposes other than for making a lending decision.
5 Penalty for Failure to Comply with the Requirements of these Directives
5.1 A bank that violates any of the provisions of these directives shall be penalized
in line with article 2 of National Bank of Ethiopia Directives number
SBB/35/2004;
5.2 In addition to the financial penalty specified under Directives number
SBB/35/2004, the National Bank of Ethiopia may require the removal of
concerned officers of a bank in breach of the requirements of these directives
depending on the frequency and seriousness of the violations.
6 Effective Date
These directives shall come into force as of June 15, 2004.
62
Credit Information Center
Data Input Requirement
1. Bank’s Profile
Name
Capital and Reserves as at reporting date
Borrower’s Profile
Identification and Address
(a) Full Name (if individual, including grand father’s name)
(b) All previous names (if any)
(c) If individual, Name of the spouse
(d) If company, its form (Public Enterprise, PLC, Share Company, Sole
Proprietorship)
(e) If company, Establishment date
(f) ID of Borrower (Tax ID)
(g) If company, Trade Registration No.
(h) Address (Current):
- Region
- City
- Woreda
- House No.
- P.O.Box
- Telephone
(i) Two most recent previous addresses:
- Region
- City
- Woreda
- House No.
- P.O.Box
- Telephone
Relation with the lending bank (Related/non related party, as defined by NBE
Directive No. SBB/30/2002)
If Company, list of first 20 largest shareholders/owners
(a)
(b)
(c)
.
.
63
.
Name of Affiliated/related/subsidiary companies
(a)
(b)
(c)
..
..
..
Sector
(a) Agriculture
(b) Manufacturing
(c) Mining and quarrying
(d) Building and Construction
(e) Trade and Services
- domestic trade
- International trade
- Hotel and tourism
- Transport and communications
- other services (specify)
(f) Other businesses (specify)
(g) Personal loan
If the borrower is a company/an enterprise, its board directors and CEO
- Name of members of board of directors
(a)
(b)
(c)
.
.
.
- Name of CEO/General manager
3. Existing Loans and Advances
3.1 Type of Loans and Facilities: Term loan/overdraft/L/C
facility/merchandize loan
3.2 Date on which loan/facility/was approved
3.3 Due/expiry date
3.4 Amount Approved
3.5 Repayment schedule, if term loan (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually…)
3.6 Outstanding balance as at reporting date
3.7 Loan status (Pass, Special mention, Sub-standard, Doubtful, or Loss as
defined by NBE Directive No. SBB/32/2002) or settled as at reporting
date
64
4. Collateral
- Type
- Collateral identification
(a)
(b)
(c)
..
..
- Estimated value
- Degree of security (first degree, second degree,…)
5. If Company, date of Most Recent Audited Financial Statements
6. Loan Workout, Involuntary Loan Collection and Legal Measures Taken on
the loans
- Number of times loan/facility has been restructured/renewed
- Legal measures taken (foreclosure, litigation,…)
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF
BANKING BUSINESS
RESERVE REQUIREMENT
DIRECTIVE NO. SBB/37/2004
Whereas, the National Bank of Ethiopia is vested with powers, duties and
responsibilities of monetary management and regulation and supervision of banks;
Whereas, statutory reserve requirement, which obliges banks to hold a proportion
of their deposit balance with the National Bank of Ethiopia, is one of the important
monetary policy instruments and prudential regulation tools;
Whereas, a bank operating in Ethiopia currently has one reserve account with the
National Bank of Ethiopia which is used to carry out day-to-day settlement of
transactions through the National Bank of Ethiopia and to maintain statutory
reserve balance;
Whereas, the frequency of daily deposits to and withdrawals from the reserve
accounts of Banks has been too high and thus made it difficult to monitor
compliance with statutory reserve requirement by banks;
Whereas, because of the above reasons it has been found necessary to amend
National Bank of Ethiopia Directives No SBB/14/1996, so as to properly monitor
statutory reserve requirement;
65
Now, therefore, the National Bank of Ethiopia has issued these directives pursuant
to the authorities vested in it by Article 41 of Monetary and Banking Proclamation
No. 83/1994 and article 16 of Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business
Proclamation No. 84/1994.
1. Opening Accounts with the National Bank of Ethiopia
Banks operating in Ethiopia shall open two separate Birr accounts with the
National Bank of Ethiopia to be used as follows:
1.1. Reserve Account
a) A reserve account shall exclusively be used to maintain the reserve
balance stated under article 2 of these directives;
b) No bank shall withdraw any money from its reserve account without
prior approval of the Supervision Department of the National Bank of
Ethiopia.
1.2 Payments and Settlement Account
A payments and settlement account shall be used to carry out all day-to-day
transactions of banks through the National Bank of Ethiopia.
2. Requirement
Any bank operating in Ethiopia shall at all times maintain in its Reserve Account stated under article 1.1 of these directives 5% of all Birr and foreign currency deposit liabilities held in the form of demand (current) deposits, saving deposits and time deposits.
3. Computation of Reserve
3.1 Cash items in process of collection, if included under deposits, shall be
deducted therefrom in computing the balance of total deposits for reserve
purposes;
3.2 Cash items in process of collection through the National Bank of Ethiopia shall not be acceptable as reserve until credited to the reserve account;
66
3.3 The reserve required shall be computed on the net deposit balance, i.e. excluding cash items in process of collection, shown at the end of each reporting week.
4. Reserve Deficiencies
4.1 Deficiencies in reserve balance are subject to a penalty; 4.2 The penalty shall be assessed at a rate twice the current average
rate of interest on loans and advances charged by banks computed on the amount of the deficiency in reserve and multiplied by the number of days over which the reserve account remained deficient;
4.3 The National Bank of Ethiopia may waive the penalty stated herein above on grounds it considers acceptable.
5 Reports
For the purpose of determining strict compliance with the reserve requirement stated
under article 2 of these Directives, properly checked and signed reports, showing
balances as of each Wednesday, shall be submitted to the Supervision Department of
the National Bank of Ethiopia. The reports shall be submitted not later than Tuesday
of the following week and shall show the balance of each type of deposit under article
2 herein above, reserve balance with National Bank of Ethiopia and the
excess/shortfall in reserves.
6 Repeal
Directive No. SBB/14/96 is hereby repealed and replaced by these Directives.
These Directives shall enter into force as of 31st day of January 2005.
National Bank of Ethiopia
Directive No. SBB/38/2006
Amendment to
The Establishment and Operation of
67
Export Credit Guarantee Scheme Directive
Whereas, national exporters need to compete on an equal footing with other exporters in increasingly competitive foreign markets and to satisfy foreign buyers' requirements; Whereas, it is necessary that exporters with bona-fide export orders should not lose the export opportunity due to inability to get bank credit; Whereas, operation of enhanced export credit guarantee schemes has been found to be supportive of the export sector by availing the necessary financial resources from banks for pre and post-shipment of exports;
Whereas, export credit guarantee schemes have proved to be necessary vehicles to
facilitate exporters' access to bank credit;
Now, therefore, in accordance with Articles 6 and 61 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994, the National Bank of Ethiopia hereby issues these directives on Establishment and Operation of Export Credit Guarantee Scheme.
Article 1
Definitions
For the purpose of these directives, unless the context provides otherwise: 1.1 "Export Credit Guarantee" shall mean a guarantee provided by the Bank
to safeguard export financing banks against losses resulting from the export transactions they finance.
1.2 "Exporter" is a person engaged in non-coffee exports; 1.3 "Export" is non-coffee export. 1.4 “The Bank” is the National Bank of Ethiopia; 1.5 "Financing Banks" are licensed commercial banks in Ethiopia.
68
1.6 "Pre-Shipment Export Credit Guarantee" is a guarantee provided by the Bank upto a maximum of 365 days to financing banks to cover pre-shipment export loan extended to exporters;
1.7 "Post-Shipment Export credit Guarantee" is a guarantee provided by the Bank upto a maximum of 180 days to financing banks to cover post-shipment export loan extended to exporters;
1.8 “Fund" is a special fund created by the Bank for financing Export Credit Guarantee Scheme.
1.9 “Bankable export project” shall mean a project appraised by financing banks in line with their applicable credit policy and procedures and found within acceptable risk level.
1.10 “Perishable export commodities” shall mean export commodities subject to significant deterioration in quality or spoilage or decay, such as fruits, vegetables, molasses, unpreserved meat, flowers, live animals and other commodities as determined by the Bank.
1.11 “Existing exporters” shall mean exporters who have been engaged in export business for at least 12 months prior to the date of application for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme and who can produce evidence of receipt of export proceeds over those months.
1.12 “New exporters” shall mean exporters who have been engaged in export business for less than 12 months at the time of applying for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme.
Article 2
Eligibility Criteria
2.1 Exporters shall satisfy all of the following in order to be considered eligible for export credit guarantee:
2.1.1 The export project to be financed under the export credit guarantee scheme shall be bankable;
2.1.2 Exporters shall not carry “loss” category loans, as defined in the Bank's Directives on Provisioning, owed to any bank in Ethiopia;
2.1.3 Exporters shall present a bona-fide order from a foreign buyer; 2.1.4 Exporters shall produce evidence of a valid investment certificate and/or
trade license; 2.1.5 New exporters shall:
2.1.5.1 produce property or other collateral equivalent to at least 40% for producer exporters and 50% for other exporters of the amount of the loan requested;
2.1.5.2 produce evidence that all proceeds from non-perishable goods to be exported shall be paid through irrevocable letter of credit; however, no letter of credit shall be required for perishable export commodities;
69
2.1.6 Existing exporters shall produce from local banks documentary evidence about receipt of export proceeds in the 12 months preceding the date of application for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme;
2.1.7 Exporters shall submit all documents required by financing banks to conduct their normal credit risk analysis.
2.2 Financing banks may approve pre-shipment or post-shipment credit to exporters upon fulfillment of the above eligibility
criteria.
Article 3
Issuance of Guarantee
Upon written request of a financing bank, the Bank shall issue export credit
guarantee to cover 80% of the outstanding loan balance and interest thereof
extended to an exporter provided the request is acceptable to the Bank.
Article 4 The Guarantee Amount
The Bank may issue export credit guarantee to:
4.1 Existing exporters, who fulfill eligibility criteria set under article 2.1 herein above, upto 100% of export proceeds actually received through financing banks from export of non-coffee exports in the 12 months preceding the date of application for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme;
4.2 New producer exporters, who fulfill eligibility criteria set under article 2.1 above, upto two point five (2.5) times the estimated value of the pledged collateral;
4.3 Other new exporters, who fulfill eligibility criteria set under articles 2.1
upto two (2) times the value of the pledged collateral;
Article 5 Obligations of Financing Banks
5.1 Financing banks shall: 5.1.1 critically evaluate credit worthiness of the exporter who applies for a loan
and shall ensure that the export project to be financed is bankable; 5.1.2 finance only bankable export projects; 5.1.3 Collect credit information from all banks in Ethiopia to ensure that an
exporter applying for export loan does not carry “loss” category loans owed to any bank;
5.1.4 exercise all reasonable and usual care regarding operations of export financing and act with utmost good faith;
70
5.1.5 Channel to the exporter's loan account, in settlement of the loan, all export proceeds collected from an exporter after the disbursement of the loan covered by the export credit guarantee.
5.1.6 promptly notify the Bank within 15 days of the occurrence of any event or
development likely to cause a loss or default; 5.1.7 collect on behalf of the Bank interest due to the Bank on loans covered by
export guarantee; and 5.1.8 act as the agent of the Bank to recover the due amount from the defaulting
exporter and report to the Bank actions taken on such borrowers promptly.
5.2 Where the exporter defaults, the financing bank, subject to prior approval of the Bank, may:
5.2.1 extend the due date of pre- or post shipment export credit covered by export credit guarantee for a maximum of 180 days
if it determines that the financial position of the borrower is sound and the loan repayment problem is temporary; or
5.2.2 provide additional loan that may not exceed 50 percent of the existing outstanding loan covered by export credit guarantee
and extend the due date of both the new and the existing loans for a maximum of 180 days if it determines that the
borrower will be rehabilitated and settle the loans out of the cash flow to be generated.
5.3 Financing banks shall submit to the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank:
5.3.1 Relevant credit risk analysis report and all other documents necessary to ensure the export project to be financed is
bankable; and
5.3.2 Monthly export credit performance report in accordance with the table attached with this Directive. Such report shall be
filed within twenty days after the end of the reporting month.
Article 6
Revolving Credit
Financing banks may, during the life of the export credit guarantee, repeatedly disburse loan to a borrower for export purposes equivalent to the amount of the partial or full loan settlement referred to under sub-article 5.1.5, so long as the outstanding balance of the loan does not exceed the export credit guarantee issued to cover it.
Article 7 Obligation of the Exporter
Exporter shall: 7.1 Provide accurate information, accompanied with all supporting documents,
to financing banks on their business, export activities and bank loan repayment status;
7.2 Exercise due care so as to ensure that the advances are used for the purposes they are earmarked for;
71
7.3 Carry out all export activities only through financing bank until any loan under export credit guarantee taken from the financing bank is fully settled;
7.3.1 Repay the entire amount of the outstanding loan and interest thereof to the financing bank on or before due date of the loan;
7.3.2 In case of difficulties experienced in manufacture or shipment of goods or realization of export proceeds from foreign buyers, they should discuss the problem and the proposed course of action with their financing banks.
Article 8 Risk Coverage
8.1 The Bank shall cover 80 percent of the risk which may result from default
of repayment; 8.2 The financing bank shall bear the remaining portion (20 percent) of default risk.
Article 9 The Guarantee Fund and Fee
9.1 The Bank shall create a Guarantee Fund Account for funding the Export
Credit Guarantee Scheme; 9.2 Financing banks shall pay, out of the interest rate stated under article 9.1
here under, 2 (two) percent of the outstanding loan balance covered by export credit guarantee per annum to the Bank calculated in line with interest income accrual or collection policy and procedure of the respective financing bank. They shall pay such interest to the Bank on quarterly basis;
9.3 Interest income collected in line with article 9.2 above shall be transferred to Guarantee Fund Account of the Bank by
debiting the reserve account of the financing bank;
Article 10
Rate of Interest
10.1 Financing banks shall charge their respective prevailing lowest lending interest rate on pre- or post-shipment loans covered by the export credit guarantee scheme;
10.2 Non-compliance with the stipulation of the credit guarantee scheme might
result in charging the penal rate used by the financing bank. In the case of proven mis-use of funds, the financing bank may demand the immediate repayment of the loan.
72
Article 11
Collateral
11.1 The Export Credit Guarantee of the Bank serves as part of the collateral when exporters apply for financing;
11.2 When applying for post-shipment credit, the exporter shall hand over to the financing bank all the necessary shipping and
other documents relating to the goods shipped for export. Also, the exporter shall authorize the financing bank to collect or
receive payment from the foreign buyer, on the basis of which the post-shipment credit is sanctioned to the exporter. Goods in
possession of the financing bank are considered as additional collateral providing the necessary security for the financing bank;
11.3 In case a borrower defaults, the Bank and financing bank shall share the cash collateral, or any proceeds from liquidation of
any property pledged as collateral, or any proceeds from liquidation of collateral secured through court ruling, in proportion to
the risk they took in lending to the defaulting borrower, that is, the Bank shall be entitled to collect 80% leaving the balance
(20%) to the financing bank.
Article 12
Repayment
12.1 Without prejudice to article 5.2 above, repayment period for pre-shipment credit shall not exceed 365 days. Pre-shipment advances shall be repaid by handing over the shipping documents to the financing bank within 10 days after the goods have been shipped for export. The date of shipment is the date of the stamp on the bill of lading or other shipping documents. The repayment of loan may be by way of adjusting from post-shipment credit obtained against the documents or by payment in an accepted manner;
12.2 Exporters, adjusting the pre-shipment credit, shall have the possibility of
extending the credit into the post-shipment period. Exporters willing to use this
facility shall have to apply well in advance to their financing bank for a post-shipment
credit to avoid possible delays, after the goods have been shipped. Any non-
compliance with the above stipulation may result in rejection of the exporter's post-
shipment credit
application and immediate repayment obligation of the pre-shipment credit;
12.3 Without prejudice to article 5.2 above, repayment period of the post-shipment credit shall not exceed 180 days. Post-shipment advances will be adjusted by the financing bank out of payments received from the foreign importer to enable it to automatically settle the outstanding debt of its exporter-borrower, after payment from the foreign buyer has been collected.
73
Article 13
Settlement of Guaranteed Portion to Financing Bank
13.1 In case an export credit goes on default, the reserve account of the financing bank shall be credited by the guaranteed portion of the amount it lent to the exporter within seven days after the complete set of necessary documents have been presented to the Bank. The Bank, however, shall not pay any interest on the export credit during the seven days following submission of complete set of documents by financing banks;
13.2 When repayment of the full amount of defaulted loan is effected after the due date by an exporter, the financing bank shall
inform the Bank within 7 days to debit its reserve account by the amount which it received from the Export Credit Guarantee
Fund.
Article 14
Opening of a Special Unit
14.1 Financing banks utilizing the Export Credit Guarantee Scheme shall establish within their head offices a special unit, which will deal with the assessment and approval of export credit guarantee applications with the view of facilitating the operations of the scheme.
14.2 The special units created by financing banks in line with requirement of
article 14.1 shall have their own operational manual approved by the Bank.
Article 15
Expiry of Guarantee
15.1 Export Credit Guarantee shall be issued for a specific period of time that shall not exceed i) 365 days to cover pre-shipment export credit and ii) 180 days to cover post shipment export credit. However, the Bank, upon request of financing banks, may extend expiry date of the guarantee for a maximum of 180 days from its expiry date. At the last day of the guarantee period, unless extended in writing by the Bank, the Guarantee shall be null and void;
15.2 Under normal circumstances, the last day of the Guarantee shall be that indicated on the "Export Credit Guarantee Letter" as ending date of the Guarantee.
Article 16 Default and Non-compliance
74
16.1 Where an exporter defaults and cannot qualify for loan rescheduling or
restructuring stipulated under article 5.2 above, he/she shall be suspended from all types of bank credit from the entire banking system until he/she fully settles the outstanding loan including interest and charges;
16.2 To facilitate the suspension, the Bank shall circulate the names of all
defaulters under the export credit guarantee scheme to all banks. Moreover, the Bank shall publish the names of such defaulters in widely circulating newspapers;
16.3 Upon receipt of defaulters list stipulated under article 16.2 above, all
banks shall deny provision of new bank credit service(s) and shall not renew all existing overdraft or other credit facilities to any one exporter in the list until the Bank notifies them that the exporter has fully settled his/her overdue export loans;
16.4 If a financing bank does not comply with the provisions of these directives,
the Bank maintains the power to reduce guarantee coverage and, in extreme cases, to suspend new coverage for a period of four years.
Article 17 Inspection by the Bank
The Bank may undertake an inspection of any financing bank at any time to verify that the financing bank complies with the
provisions of these Directives.
Article 18
Repeal
The Establishment and Operation of Export Credit Guarantee Scheme Directive Number SBB/34/2004 is hereby repealed and
replaced by these Directives.
Article 19
Effective Date
These directives shall come into force as of the 15th day of April 2006.
Corrigendum
Article 9.2 of the Directives, phrases “….article 9.1….” is replaced by “ ….article
10.1….”
1
LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF BANKING BUSINESS
Amendment for New Bank Licensing and Approval of Directors and CEO
Directives No. SBB/39/ 2006
1. Issuing Authority
These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested in it by article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by article 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definitions
In these Directives:
2.1 “The Bank “shall mean National Bank of Ethiopia. 2.2 "Business continuity plan" shall mean the process by which banks
ensure the resumption of operations, including services to customers, interrupted as a consequence of adverse events such as natural disasters, technological failures, human error, or terrorism.
2.3 “Financial Institution” shall mean insurance companies, banks,
microfinance institutions and such other institutions as determined by the Bank.
2
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
2.4 “Related Party of a bank” shall mean, on the one hand, a
shareholder, a director or a principal officer of that bank and/or the spouse or relation in the first degree of consanguinity or affinity of such shareholder, director or principal officer; and on the other, a partnership, a private limited company, a share company, a joint venture, or any other business in which the shareholder, director or principal officer of the bank and/or the spouse or relation in the first degree of consanguinity or affinity of such shareholder, director or principal officer has a business interest as shareholder, director, principal officer, owner or partner. For the purpose of these Directives, a person holding five percent or more of paid up capital of a bank, a partnership, a private limited company, a share company, a joint venture, or any other business shall be considered as a related party.
3. Information Required From Applicants For License
In addition to information required under article 5 of Proclamation Number 84/1994, applicants for new banking business license shall submit to the Bank the following:
3.1. Evidence for paid up capital which includes certificate of deposit in a
blocked subscription account maintained with a commercial bank for this purpose and evidence for valuation of contribution in kind;
3.2. Names, addresses and occupation (including dates and addresses
of employment covering the latest ten years) of the founders; 3.3. A feasibility study of the future operations and development of the
business for a minimum period of three years from the date of the commencement of operation, including:
3.3.1. Proposed organizational chart of the bank, and brief
description of the functions of the main organizational units;
3.3.2. A schedule of all preliminary expenses including costs of organization, share-selling and brokerage and commission;
3.3.3. Projections of balance sheet, cash flow statement and profit and loss accounts, with the following breakdowns where applicable:
3
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
i. deposit mobilization and interest payable stating separately the proposed major sources and types of deposits;
ii. loans and advances to be made and interest receivable, stating intended lending by sector;
iii. investments to be made and earnings thereof; iv. operating expenses including rents, salaries,
employee benefits, directors’ remuneration; v. liquid and reserve assets; vi. capital structure; vii. provision for bad and doubtful debts; viii. fixed assets, including business premises; ix. other income, including commissions, fees/charges;
and x. net operating profit/loss.
3.3.4. Interest rate sensitivity analysis of the projections submitted
or other similar analyses of the extent to which the forecasts will change when interest rates vary (the assumptions underlying the projections and the sensitivity analysis should be stated);
3.3.5. Statistical and other data which may have been collected in
respect of the area in which the applicant intends to operate including population of the area, business located in the area, etc. and existing banking facilities;
3.4. Disclosure of the identity of shareholders who have acquired five or more percent of the capital stock, indicating their names, nationality, number and value of shares held;
3.5. Authenticated ownership certificate and/or lease agreement for items
listed under Section 11.1 of Banking Business License Application Form attached with these Directives;
3.6. Descriptions of actual purchases made or proposed purchases of
goods and services, or lease of real estate by the bank from related parties;
4
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
3.7. Curriculum vitae of the proposed chief executive officer and directors
including their age, marital status, education, employment history for the past ten years, their experience in business and financial affairs, their involvement in civic, social and charitable activities including any leadership position held;
3.8. Completed “Propriety” questionnaire attached with these directives
as annex I for directors and nominated chief executive officer; 3.9. Duly completed application form and enclosures thereto as
prescribed by the Bank;
4. Selection Criteria and Appointment of Chief Executive Officer
4.1 Board of directors of a bank shall appoint a chief executive officer who demonstrates his/her competence and ability to understand the technical requirements of banking business, inherent risks and management processes required to conduct banking operations effectively, with due regard to the interests of all stakeholders.
4.2 In determining competence, and capability of the chief executive
officer, the board of directors shall take into account all relevant considerations, at a minimum including, but not limited to:
4.2.1 whether the person has a sound knowledge of the business and
responsibilities he will be called upon to shoulder; 4.2.2 whether the person has demonstrated, through his qualifications
and experience, the capacity to successfully undertake the responsibilities of the position, including the establishment of effective internal control and risk management regime;
4.2.3 whether the person has ever been:
i. fined, suspended, removed, or his/her professional license
revoked by a professional, trade or regulatory body because of incompetence, fraud, negligence, or violation of laws, rules, regulations and professional code of conduct; or
ii. fined, demoted, dismissed or requested to resign from any position or office for incompetence or mismanagement by his/her employer; and
5
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
4.2.4 whether the person has ever been diagnosed as being mentally ill or unstable.
4.3 Chief executive officer of a bank shall hold a minimum of first degree or equivalent from a recognized higher institution of learning.
4.4 Chief executive officer shall have a minimum of 10 years
experience in banking, of which, at a minimum, five years shall be in senior managerial position.
4.5 Board of directors of a bank shall appoint a person with high
honesty, integrity, reputation and diligence as chief executive officer for the bank.
4.6 In determining a person’s honesty, integrity, reputation and
diligence, the board of directors shall consider all appropriate factors (but not limited to) indicated in Annex I of these directives.
4.7 Chief executive officer of a bank shall be at least 30 years old. 4.8 Chief executive officer of a bank shall preferably be married or
responsible to a family. 4.9 Appointment of chief executive officer for a bank (be it for new or
existing bank) by board of directors shall be subject to approval by the Bank.
4.10 To obtain approval, the bank shall file with the Bank written request
along with relevant documents showing that the board has taken into account all relevant considerations set in these directives.
4.11 The Bank shall give written response for the request to approve a
chief executive officer submitted under Article 4.10 herein above within one month from the date of receipt of such request.
6
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
5. Appointment of Board of Directors and Selection Criteria
5.1 Selection Criteria
5.1.1 Education At least seventy five percent of a bank's board members shall hold a minimum of first degree or equivalent from recognized higher learning institution; and the remaining board members should, at a minimum complete general secondary school. 5.1.2 Employment
Members of Board of Directors shall have adequate managerial experience, preferably in banking business, and/or should take adequate training in banking business management after holding a seat on the board.
5.1.3 Propriety
i. A board member shall be a person with honesty,
integrity, diligence and reputation to the satisfaction of the Bank.
ii. In determining propriety, the Bank shall take into account
all the information (but not limited to) given in Annex I of these directives.
5.1.4 Prohibition
i. A board member of a bank shall not, at the same time, serve as a board member of any other financial institution;
ii. Chairperson of board of directors of a bank shall not be
chief executive officer of the same bank.
7
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
5.1.5 Rotation
i. A director shall not serve on a board of a bank for more than six consecutive years; however, he/she may be re-elected after a lapse of six years.
ii. Notwithstanding provisions of article 5.1.5(i) herein above, if the shareholders of a bank wish to maintain continuity in the board and re-elect some of the existing board members, they may re-elect such board members for only one more term. The number of board members so re-elected shall, however, be limited to a maximum of one-third (1/3) of the outgoing board members.
5.1.6 Financial Soundness
A director shall not sit on the board of a bank if he /she or a business entity in which he/she served or is serving as director or chief executive officer:
i. has filed for bankruptcy, been adjudged bankrupt, had
assets sequestrated, or been involved in court proceedings relating to any default on credit (bank or otherwise) repayments or tax payment;
ii. carries non-performing loans as defined in the Bank’s
relevant directives from any bank;
5.2 Age A member of the board of a bank shall be at least 30 years old.
5.3 Appointment
5.3.1 Appointment of members of board of directors for a bank (be it for a new or existing bank) shall be subject to approval by the Bank.
8
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
5.3.2 Banks shall submit to the Bank written request for such approval along with completed PROPRIETY TEST QUESTIONNAIRE (which is annexed with these directives) and other relevant documents necessary to process the approval.
5.3.3 The Bank shall give written response for the request to
approve appointment of board members submitted under article 5.3.2 herein above within one month from the date of receipt of such request.
6. Fees
6.1 A company applying to undertake banking business shall pay
investigation fee of Birr750 (Birr seven hundred and fifty only) that is to be paid at the time of lodging an application.
6.2. A company licensed to undertake banking business shall pay
license fee of Birr5,550 (Birr five thousand five hundred fifty only). 6.3. A bank shall renew its banking business license every year between
July 1 and September 30 and pay annual license renewal fee of Birr5,550 (Birr five thousand five hundred fifty only).
7. Application Submission
All application documents for banking business license duly completed shall be submitted to the Banking Supervision Department, National Bank of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
8 Financial Year For the purpose of reporting to the Bank, financial year for all banks operating in Ethiopia shall be from July 1 of the current year to June 30 of the following year.
9
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
9 Commencement of Operation
A licensed bank shall fulfill the following before it commences operation:
9.1 Put in place comprehensive risk management policies and
operating manuals including, but not limited to:
9.1.1 Credit, 9.1.2 Recruitment and manpower development, 9.1.3 Investment, 9.1.4 Domestic and foreign banking, 9.1.5 Liquidity management, 9.1.6 Audit and inspection, 9.1.7 Management information systems, 9.1.8 Planning and budgeting, 9.1.9 Accounting; and 9.1.10 Business continuity Plan
9.2 Hire, train and place adequate and appropriate staff;
9.3 Ensure that the banking hall and staff operating area are
suitable for the type of business to be undertaken in the premises housing the bank including but not limited to:
9.3.1 Proper ventilation and circulation of fresh air, 9.3.2 Suitable and clean sanitary service,
9.3.3 Sufficient and suitable lighting, 9.3.4 Display of working hours and copy of the bank's license in a
visible area of the bank; 9.3.5 Cashier's till which is restricted to authorized persons;
9.4 Have a strong room with a minimum carrying capacity of 224
cubic meters.
9.5 Cash loading and unloading area shall be suitable and protected from public view and access.
9.6 Place fire extinguishers at appropriate places,
9.7 Have insurance policy for the following at a minimum:
10
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
9.7.1 Fire and other perils, 9.7.2 Burglary and theft,
9.7.3 Fidelity, 9.7.4 Cash and valuables in premises and in transit,
9.8 Outer doors of the building housing the bank shall be of heavy duty metal;
9.9 All windows and glass walls of the building housing the bank
shall be reinforced with metal grills;
10. Transition Period for Existing Banks The provisions of these directives shall apply on banks operating in Ethiopia prior to the effective date of these directives starting from 1st of July 2007.
11. Repeal
Directives No. SBB/1/1994 are hereby repealed and replaced by these Directives.
12 Effective Date
These Directives shall enter into force as of 1st day of May 2006.
11
Strictly Confidential ANNEX I
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA PROPRIETY TEST QUESTIONAIRE
(To be completed by elected board member and nominated chief executive officer of a bank)
Please give yes or no answers for the following questions; if your answer is "yes" please give further explanation on separate paper.
Position: Board member/Chief Executive Officer (underline the applicable
position) Full Name .............................................................................................................. Name of Bank: …………………………………………………………………………..
a. Have you been convicted of any criminal offence, particularly an offence relating to dishonesty, fraud, financial crime or other criminal acts or been involved in any acts of misfeasance or serious misconduct?
b. Have you been the subject of any proceedings of a disciplinary or
criminal nature, or have you been notified of any impending proceedings or of any investigation, which might lead to such proceedings?
c. Has any business in which you have equity capital participation of five percent and above or in which you served as a director or as chief executive officer been fined, suspended or disciplined in other way or investigated or criticized by a government regulator or professional body?
d. Have you been associated, in ownership or management capacity,
with a company, partnership or other business association that has been refused registration, authorization, membership or a license to conduct trade, business or profession, or has had that registration, authorization, membership or license revoked, withdrawn or terminated?
12
e. Have you, as a result of the removal of the license, registration or other authority mentioned under “d” above been refused the right to carry on trade, business or profession requiring a license, registration or other authorization?
f. Have you been a director, chief executive officer, or otherwise
involved in the management of a business that has gone into receivership, insolvency, or liquidation?
g. Have you been dismissed, asked to resign or resigned from
employment or from a position because of questions or doubts about your honesty and integrity?
h. Have you ever been disqualified, under any law or regulation, from
acting as a director or serving in a managerial capacity?
I certify that the information given above is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
Signature________________________________________ Date ____________________________________________
AMENDMENT OF BRANCH OPENING Directives Number SBB/40/ 2006
1. Issuing Authority
These Directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and Article 5(4) of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definition
For the purpose of this directive the term: 2.1 “The Bank” shall mean National Bank of Ethiopia; 2.2 “Branch” shall mean any place of business at which deposits are
received or cheques are paid out or money is lent and other
13
banking business as defined in article 2(2) of Proclamation number 84/1994 is solicited.
3. Requirement
3.1 A bank shall obtain prior authorization from the Bank to open a branch office.
3.2 A bank planning to open a branch shall submit a duly completed
application attached to these directives together with a covering letter to the Bank and shall pay the fee indicated under article 6 of these directives.
3.3 A bank authorized to open a branch shall open the said branch and commence operation within 6(six) months from the date of the grant of authorization.
3.4 A bank authorized to open a branch shall notify the Bank the date it
plans to commence operation in the new branch 15 (fifteen) days before the planned date of commencement of operation.
3.5 Before commencing operation a bank authorized to open a branch
shall fulfill the following:
3.5.1 Ensure that the bank’s relevant policy and procedure manuals, and NBE directives are distributed to appropriate staff members of the branch to be opened;
3.5.2 Ensure that the branch is adequately guarded; 3.5.3 Display in a visible area of the branch working hours, copy of
the bank's license and branch authorization; 3.5.4 Ensure that the banking hall and staff operating area are
suitable for the type of business to be undertaken in the premises housing the branch including but not limited to:
i. Proper ventilation and circulation of fresh air; ii. Suitable and clean sanitary service; iii. Sufficient and suitable lighting; iv. Cashiers' Till, access to which is restricted to
authorized persons. 3.5.5 Ensure that the branch has appropriate strong room or
safe/vault; 3.5.6 Place fire extinguishers in appropriate area;
14
3.5.7 Have insurance policy at least for the following: i. Fire and other perils, ii. Burglary and theft, iii. Fidelity, iv. Cash and valuable in premises and transit,
3.5.8 Ensure that outer doors of the building housing the branch
are of heavy duty metal; 3.5.9 Ensure that all windows and glass walls of the building
housing the branch are reinforced with metal grills; 4 Obligation of the Bank
The Bank shall give a written response within five working days from the date of receipt of the application.
5. Scope of Application
5.1 Requirements set under sub-article 3.5 herein above shall be applicable on new branches as well as branches opened before the effective date of these Directives.
5.2 Branches opened before the effective date of these Directives shall
fulfill requirements under sub-article 3.5 herein above latest by June 30, 2007.
6. Fee
A bank applying to open a branch shall pay an investigation fee of Birr 500 (Birr five hundred) for each branch.
7. Prohibition
No bank shall relocate its branch without prior notification and approval by
the Bank.
8. Repeal
Directives No. SBB/22/1996 are hereby repealed and replaced by these directives.
9. Effective Date
15
These Directives shall enter into force as of the 8th day of May 2006.
Directives to Transfer Duties and Responsibilities Related to Establishment and Operation of Export Credit Guarantee Scheme from the
National Bank of Ethiopia to Development Bank of Ethiopia
Directives No. SBB/ 41/2007 Whereas, national exporters need to compete on an equal footing with other exporters in increasingly competitive foreign markets and satisfy foreign buyers' requirements; Whereas, it is necessary that exporters with bona-fide export orders should not lose the export opportunity due to inability to get bank credit; Whereas, operation of enhanced export credit guarantee schemes has been found to be supportive of the export sector by availing the necessary financial resources from banks for pre and post-shipment of exports; Whereas, export credit guarantee schemes have proved to be necessary vehicles to facilitate exporters' access to bank credit; Whereas, the Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has decided to transfer duties and responsibilities related to establishment and operation of export credit guarantee scheme from National Bank of Ethiopia to Development Bank of Ethiopia; Now, therefore, in accordance with Articles 6 and 61 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994, the National Bank of Ethiopia hereby issues these directives.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
Article 1 Definitions
For the purpose of these directives, unless the context provides otherwise: 1.1 “The Bank” shall mean National Bank of Ethiopia;
16
1.2 "Guarantor" shall mean Development Bank of Ethiopia; 1.3 "Financing Banks" are licensed commercial banks (excluding
Development Bank of Ethiopia) in Ethiopia; 1.4 “Bankable Export Project” shall mean a project appraised by financing
banks in line with their applicable credit policy and procedures and found within acceptable risk level by the Guarantor;
1.5 "Export" is non-coffee export; 1.6 "Export Credit Guarantee" shall mean a guarantee provided by the
Guarantor to safeguard export financing banks against losses resulting from the export transactions they finance;
1.7 "Exporter" is a person engaged in non-coffee exports; 1.8 “Existing Exporters” shall mean exporters who have been engaged in
export business for at least 12 months prior to the date of application for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme who can produce evidence of receipt of export proceeds over those months;
1.9 “New Exporters” shall mean exporters who have been engaged in export
business for less than 12 months at the time of applying for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme;
1.10 “Fund" is a special fund created by the Guarantor for financing guarantee
settlements under Export Credit Guarantee Scheme; 1.11 "Outstanding Active Export Credit Guarantees" shall mean guarantees issued by
the Bank to financing banks, which on the effective date of these directives (i) have not expired or (ii) original due dates have expired but extended by the Bank and not yet due;
1.12 "Outstanding Inactive Export Credit Guarantees" shall mean export credit
guarantees issued by the Bank before the effective date of these directives which have been (i) claimed by financing banks, or (ii) claimed by financing banks and disputed, or (iii) settled by the Bank and under litigation or transferred to Legal Services Department of the Bank for litigation;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 1.13 “Perishable Export Commodities” shall mean export commodities
subject to significant deterioration in quality or spoilage or decay, such as
17
fruits, vegetables, molasses, unpreserved meat, flowers, live animals and other commodities as determined by the Bank;
1.14 "Pre-Shipment Export Credit Guarantee" is a guarantee provided by the
Guarantor up to a maximum of 365 days to financing banks to cover pre-shipment export loan extended to exporters;
1.15 "Post-Shipment Export Credit Guarantee" is a guarantee provided by the
Guarantor up to a maximum of 180 days to financing banks to cover post-shipment export loan extended to exporters.
Article 2
Eligibility Criteria
2.1 Exporters shall satisfy all of the following in order to be considered eligible for export credit guarantee:
2.1.1 The export project to be financed under the export credit guarantee
scheme shall be bankable; 2.1.2 Exporters shall not carry “loss” category loans, as defined in the Bank's
Directives on Provisioning, owed to any bank in Ethiopia; 2.1.3 Exporters shall present a bona-fide order from a foreign buyer; 2.1.4 Exporters shall produce evidence of a valid investment certificate and/or
trade license; 2.1.5 New exporters shall:
i. produce property or other collateral equivalent to at least 40% for producer exporters and 50% for other exporters of the amount of the loan requested;
ii. produce evidence that all proceeds from non-
perishable goods to be exported shall be paid through irrevocable letter of credit; however, no letter of credit shall be required for perishable export commodities;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
18
2.1.6 Existing exporters shall produce from local banks documentary evidence about receipt of export proceeds in the 12 months preceding the date of application for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme;
2.1.7 Exporters shall submit all documents required by financing banks to
conduct their normal credit risk analysis.
2.2 Financing banks may approve pre-shipment or post-shipment credit to exporters upon fulfillment of the above eligibility criteria.
Article 3 Issuance of Guarantee
Upon written request of a financing bank, the Guarantor shall issue export credit guarantee to cover 80% of the outstanding loan balance and interest thereof extended to an exporter by the financing bank, provided the request is acceptable to the Guarantor.
Article 4
The Guarantee Amount The Guarantor may issue export credit guarantee to: 4.1 Existing exporters, who fulfill eligibility criteria set under article 2.1 herein
above, up to 100% of export proceeds actually received through financing banks from non-coffee exports in the 12 months preceding the date of application for export loan under export credit guarantee scheme;
4.2 New producer exporters, who fulfill eligibility criteria set under article
2.1 above, up to two point five (2.5) times the estimated value of the pledged collateral;
4.3 Other new exporters, who fulfill eligibility criteria set under articles 2.1 above,
up to two (2) times the value of the pledged collateral;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
Article 5
19
Obligations of Financing Banks 5.1 Financing banks shall:
5.1.1 critically evaluate credit worthiness of the exporter who applies for a loan and shall ensure that the export project to be financed is bankable;
5.1.2 finance only bankable export projects; 5.1.3 Collect credit information from all banks in
Ethiopia to ensure that an exporter applying for export loan does not carry “loss” category loans owed to any bank;
5.1.4 exercise all reasonable and usual care
regarding operations of export financing and act with utmost good faith;
5.1.5 Channel to the exporter's loan account, in
settlement of the loan, all export proceeds collected from an exporter after the disbursement of the loan covered by the export credit guarantee.
5.1.6 promptly notify the Guarantor within 15
days of the occurrence of any event or development likely to cause a loss or default;
5.1.7 collect on behalf of the Guarantor interest
due to it on loans covered by export credit guarantee; and
5.1.8 act as the agent of the Guarantor to recover the due amount from the defaulting exporter and report to the Guarantor actions taken on such borrowers promptly.
5.2 Where the exporter defaults, the financing bank, subject to prior written agreement of the Guarantor, may:
5.2.1 extend the due date of pre or post shipment export credit
covered by export credit guarantee for a maximum of 180 days if it determines that the financial position of the borrower is sound and the loan repayment problem is temporary; or
5.2.2 provide additional loan that may not exceed 50 percent of
the existing outstanding loan covered by export credit guarantee and extend the due date of both the new and the existing loans for a maximum of 180 days if it determines that the borrower will be
20
rehabilitated and settle the loans out of the cash flow to be generated.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 5.3 Financing banks shall submit to the Guarantor:
5.3.1 Relevant credit risk analysis report and all other documents necessary to ensure the export project to be financed is bankable; and
5.3.2 Monthly export credit performance report in accordance with the
table attached with these Directives or any other format developed by the Guarantor. Such report shall be filed within twenty days after the end of the reporting month.
Article 6 Revolving Credit
Financing banks may, during the life of the export credit guarantee, repeatedly disburse loan to a borrower for export purposes equivalent to the amount of the partial or full loan settlement referred to under sub-article 5.1.5, so long as the outstanding balance of the loan does not exceed the export credit guarantee issued to cover it.
Article 7 Obligation of the Exporter
Exporter shall: 7.1 Provide accurate information, accompanied with all supporting documents,
to financing banks on their business, export activities and bank loan repayment status;
7.2 Exercise due care so as to ensure that the advances are used for the
purposes they are earmarked for; 7.3 Repay the entire amount of the outstanding loan and interest thereof to
the financing bank on or before due date of the loan;
7.4 In case of difficulties experienced in manufacture or shipment of goods or realization of export proceeds from foreign buyers, they should discuss the problem and the proposed course of action with their financing banks.
21
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
Article 8
Risk Coverage
8.1 The Guarantor shall cover 80 percent of the risk, which may result from default of repayment;
8.2 The financing bank shall bear the remaining portion (20
percent) of default risk. Article 9
The Guarantee Fund and Fee 9.1 The Guarantor shall create a Guarantee Fund Account for funding the
Export Credit Guarantee Scheme; 9.2 Financing banks shall pay, out of the interest rate stated under article
10.1 hereunder, 2 (two) percent of the outstanding loan balance covered by export credit guarantee per annum to the Guarantor calculated in line with interest income accrual or collection policy and procedure of the respective financing bank. They shall pay such interest to the Guarantor on quarterly basis;
9.3 Interest income collected in line with article 9.2 above shall be transferred to Guarantee Fund Account.
. 9.4 The Guarantor may invest the money in the guarantee fund account in risk
free and liquid assets such as Treasury bills and transfer the income from such investments to its Income Statement.
9.5 Guarantee fund created by the Bank in line with provisions of article 9 of
the Bank's Directives No. SBB/38/2006 shall be used to settle claims against export credit guarantee filed with the Bank before the effective date of these directives;
9.6 The closure of the Guarantee fund account with the Bank shall be decided
by the Bank . Article 10
Rate of Interest
22
10.1 Financing banks shall charge their respective prevailing lowest lending interest rate on pre- or post-shipment loans covered by the export credit guarantee scheme;
10.2 Non-compliance with the stipulation of the credit guarantee scheme might
result in charging the penal rate used by the financing bank. In the case of proven mis-use of funds, the financing bank may demand the immediate repayment of the loan.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
Article 11
Collateral 11.1 The Export Credit Guarantee of the Guarantor serves as part of the
collateral when exporters apply for financing;
11.2 When applying for post-shipment credit, the exporter shall hand over to the financing bank all the necessary shipping and other documents relating to the goods shipped for export. Also, the exporter shall authorize the financing bank to collect or receive payment from the foreign buyer, on the basis of which the post-shipment credit is sanctioned to the exporter. Goods in possession of the financing bank are considered as additional collateral providing the necessary security for the financing bank;
11.3 In case a borrower defaults, the Guarantor and financing
bank shall share the cash collateral, or any proceeds from liquidation of any property pledged as collateral, or any proceeds from liquidation of collateral secured through court ruling, in proportion to the risk they took in lending to the defaulting borrower, that is, the Guarantor shall be entitled to collect 80%, leaving the balance (20%) to the financing bank.
Article 12 5 Repayment 12.1 Without prejudice to article 5.2 above, repayment period for pre-shipment
credit shall not exceed 365 days. Pre-shipment advances shall be repaid by handing over the shipping documents to the financing bank within 10
23
days after the goods have been shipped for export. The date of shipment is the date of the stamp on the bill of lading or other shipping documents. The repayment of loan may be by way of adjusting from post-shipment credit obtained against the documents or by payment in an accepted manner;
12.2 Exporters, adjusting the pre-shipment credit, shall have the possibility of extending the credit into the post-shipment period. Exporters willing to use this facility shall have to apply well in advance to their financing bank for a post-shipment credit to avoid possible delays, after the goods have been shipped. Any non-compliance with the above stipulation may result in rejection of the exporter's post-shipment credit application and immediate repayment obligation of the pre-shipment credit;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
12.3 Without prejudice to article 5.2 above, repayment period of the post-shipment credit shall not exceed 180 days. Post-shipment advances will be adjusted by the financing bank out of payments received from the foreign importer to enable it to automatically settle the outstanding debt of its exporter-borrower, after payment from the foreign buyer has been collected.
Article 13
Settlement of Guaranteed Portion to Financing Bank 13.1 In case an export credit goes on default, the Guarantor shall pay the
guaranteed portion of the loan amount lent to the exporter within seven days after the complete set of necessary documents have been presented to it. The Guarantor, however, shall not pay any interest on the export credit during the seven days following submission of complete set of documents by financing banks;
13.2 When repayment of the full or partial amount of defaulted
loan is effected by the defaulting exporter to the financing bank after the settlement of the guaranteed portion, the financing bank shall transfer the money to the Guarantor within 7 days;
Article 14 Expiry of Guarantee
24
14.1 Export Credit Guarantee shall be issued for a specific period of time that shall not exceed i) 365 days to cover pre-shipment export credit and ii) 180 days to cover post shipment export credit. However, the Guarantor, upon request of financing banks, may extend expiry date of the guarantee for a maximum of 180 days from its expiry date. At the last day of the guarantee period, unless extended in writing by the Guarantor, the Guarantee shall be null and void;
14.2 Under normal circumstances, the last day of the Guarantee shall be that
indicated on the "Export Credit Guarantee Letter" as ending date of the Guarantee.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
Article 15
Default and Non-compliance
15.1 Where an exporter defaults and cannot qualify for loan rescheduling or restructuring stipulated under article 5.2 above, he/she shall be suspended from all types of bank credit from the entire banking system until he/she fully settles the outstanding loan including interest and charges;
15.2 To facilitate the suspension, the Guarantor shall circulate the names of all
defaulters under the export credit guarantee scheme to all banks. Moreover, the Guarantor shall publish the names of such defaulters in widely circulating newspapers;
15.3 Upon receipt of defaulters list stipulated under sub-article 15.2 above, all
banks shall deny provision of new bank credit service(s) and shall not renew all existing overdraft or other credit facilities to any one exporter in the list until the Guarantor notifies them that the exporter has fully settled his/her overdue export loans;
15.4 If a financing bank does not comply with the provisions of these directives,
the Guarantor maintains the power to reduce guarantee coverage and, in extreme cases, to suspend new coverage for a period of four years.
Article 16
25
Inspection
The Bank may undertake an inspection of any bank, including the Guarantor, to verify its compliance with the provisions of these Directives.
Article 17
Administration of Outstanding Active Export Credit Guarantees 17.1 The Guarantor shall administer outstanding active export
credit guarantees issued before the effective date of these directives in line with the terms and conditions of the guarantees set at the time of their issuance.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
17.2 The Bank shall transfer all files and documents in its
possession related to outstanding active export credit guarantees to the Guarantor.
Article 18
Administration of outstanding Inactive Export Credit Guarantees The Bank shall administer outstanding inactive export credit guarantees that are outstanding as of the effective date of these Directives until their full settlement or resolution.
Article 19 Repeal
The Establishment and Operation of Export Credit Guarantee Scheme Directives Number SBB/38/2006 is hereby repealed and replaced by these Directives.
Article 20
26
Effective Date
These directives shall come into force as of the 1st day of February 2007.
RESERVE REQUIREMENT (3rd REPLACEMENT)
DIRECTIVES No. SBB/42/2007 Whereas, the National Bank of Ethiopia is vested with powers, duties and responsibilities of monetary management and regulation and supervision of banks; Whereas, statutory reserve requirement, which obliges banks to hold a proportion of their deposit balance with the National Bank of Ethiopia, is one of the important monetary policy instruments and prudential regulation tools;
Whereas, liquidity in the banking system remained relatively high;
Whereas, commercial banks have strong incentive to enhance profitability through credit extension;
Whereas, it has been found necessary to check monetary growth so as to avoid risk of high inflation and ensure a stable macroeconomic environment for a healthy economic growth; Now, therefore, the National Bank of Ethiopia has issued these directives pursuant to the authorities vested in it by Article 41 of Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and article 16 of Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994. NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA ¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
1. Short Title These Directives may be cited as “Reserve Requirement – 3rd Replacement “ Directives No. SBB/42/ 2007. 2. Opening Accounts with the National Bank of Ethiopia
27
Banks operating in Ethiopia shall open two separate Birr accounts with the National Bank of Ethiopia to be used as follows:
2.1 Reserve Account
a) A reserve account shall exclusively be used to maintain the reserve balance stated under article 3 of these directives;
b) No bank shall withdraw any money from its reserve account
without prior approval of the Banking Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia.
2.2 Payments and Settlement Account
A payments and settlement account shall be used to carry out all day-to-day transactions of banks through the National Bank of Ethiopia.
3. Requirement Any bank operating in Ethiopia shall at all times maintain in its Reserve Account stated under sub-article 2.1 of these directives 10% (ten percent) of all Birr and foreign currency deposit liabilities held in the form of demand (current) deposits, saving deposits and time deposits.
4. Computation of Reserve
4.1 Cash items in process of collection, if included under deposits, shall be
deducted there from in computing the balance of total deposits for reserve purposes;
4.2 Cash items in process of collection through the National Bank of Ethiopia
shall not be acceptable as reserve until credited to the reserve account;
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA ¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
4.3 The reserve required shall be computed on the net deposit balance, i.e. excluding cash items in process of collection, shown at the end of each reporting week.
5. Reserve Deficiencies
28
5.1 Deficiencies in reserve balance are subject to a penalty; 5.2 The penalty shall be assessed at a rate twice the current average
rate of interest on loans and advances charged by banks computed on the amount of the deficiency in reserve and multiplied by the number of days over which the reserve account remained deficient;
5.3 The National Bank of Ethiopia may waive the penalty stated herein
above on grounds it considers acceptable. 6. Reports For the purpose of determining strict compliance with the reserve requirement stated under article 3 of these Directives, properly checked and signed reports, showing balances as of each Wednesday, shall be submitted to the Banking Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia. The reports shall be submitted not later than Tuesday of the following week and shall show the balance of each type of deposit under article 3 herein above, reserve balance with National Bank of Ethiopia and the excess/shortfall in reserves. 7. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/37/2004 is hereby repealed and replaced by these Directives. 8. Effective Date
These Directives shall enter into force as of 20th day of July 2007.
Directive No. SBB/43/2007
ASSET CLASSIFICATION AND PROVISIONING (4th REPLACEMENT)
1. Issuing Authority These directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by Articles 15(1) and 36 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
29
2. Short Title
These Directives may be cited as “Asset classification and Provisioning”
Directives No. SBB/43/2007.
3. Purpose of Directive The purpose of these directives is to provide uniform guidelines to banks to assure that:
3.1 Loans or advances are regularly reviewed and classified in a manner consistent with regulatory standards;
3.2 Loans or advances which are not performing in
accordance with contractual repayment terms are recognized and reported as past due in a manner consistent with regulatory standards;
3.3 Accrued but uncollected interest on loans or
advances is accounted for in accordance with international accounting and regulatory standards; and
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
3.4 Timely and adequate provisions are made to the
Provisions for Loan Losses Account in order to accurately reflect the risk inherent in lending activities and to ensure that disclosed capital and earnings performance are accurately reflected.
4. Definitions
4.1 “Capitalized Interest” means any accrued and uncollected interest that has been added to the principal amount of loans or advances at a payment date or maturity; it also includes uncollected interest that is rolled-over into new loans or advances.
4.2 “Cash Collateral” means credit balances on accounts in the books of
the lending bank over which customers have given the lending bank a formal letter of cession and which the bank at its discretion has transferred from the customer’s account(s) to a specific or general cash collateral account(s) or blocked.
30
4.3 “Cash-substitutes” include:
4.3.1 A security issued by the Federal Government of Ethiopia;
4.3.2 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by the Federal
Government of Ethiopia;
4.3.3 An unconditional obligation or guaranty issued in writing by a foreign bank with an A or above rating by Standard and Poor's Corporation and/or by Moody's Investor Services in their latest rating;
4.3.4 Export credit guarantee issued in writing by an institution or agency authorized
by Federal Government of Ethiopia; and
4.3.5 Other liquid and readily marketable securities approved in writing by the National Bank of Ethiopia and which are held in the vaults of the lending bank.
4.4 “Current” as used in reference to “current written,” or similar uses, means information or documentation having an issuance date not more than 12 (twelve) calendar months old.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 4.5 “In Process of Collection” means that the collection of loans or advances
is proceeding in due course in a timely manner through enforcement of judgments against the borrower that is reasonably assured to result in full repayment of the loan or advance (principal plus accrued interest) within 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days from the date the loan or advance first became past due.
4.6 “Loans” or “Advances” means any financial assets of a bank arising
from a direct or indirect advance (i.e. unplanned overdrafts, participation in loan syndication, the purchase of loans from another lender, etc.) or commitment to advance funds by a bank to a person that are conditioned on the obligation of the person to repay the funds, either on a specified date or dates or on demand, usually with interest. The term includes a contractual obligation of a bank to advance funds to or on behalf of a person, claim evidenced by a lease financing transaction in which the bank is the lessor, and an overdraft facility to be funded by the bank on behalf of a person. The term does not include accrued but uncollected interest or discounted interest.
31
4.7 “Net Recoverable Value” means the most probable value of a loan or an advance which will be realized from the sale of collateral securing the loan or advance in a competitive and open market. For purposes of these directives, the most probable value of a loan or an advance recoverable from the sale of collateral securing the loan or advance shall be the outstanding principal balance of the loan or advance multiplied by the “average recovery rate” of a bank for loans or advances secured by collateral, provided that such average recovery rate shall not be 15 (fifteen) percentage points greater than “industry average recovery rate”. If a bank has no information on aggregate net cash receipts or total net market value of acquired properties to compute its own average recovery rate, it shall use industry average recovery rate to determine the most probable value of a loan or an advance.
4.7.1 The term “ average recovery rate” means aggregate net cash
receipts from sale of collateral plus total net market value of acquired properties, divided by the aggregate outstanding principal balance of the loans or advances backed by the collateral sold or otherwise acquired by a bank calculated over the period of 18 consecutive months preceding the date of computing minimum provision requirement as laid down in these directives. In case a loan or an advance is secured by more than one collateral, such loan or advance and the collateral securing it shall be excluded from computation of average recovery rate unless all properties backing the loan or advance are sold or otherwise acquired by the bank.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
4.7.1 “Aggregate net cash receipts” means net cash collection (after deduction of any expenses associated with the sale of the collateral which may have been necessary to place the collateral in a saleable condition), over 18 consecutive months preceding the date of calculating minimum provision requirement, of a bank from the sale of collateral which have been seized or foreclosed by the bank in satisfaction of loans or advances previously granted.
4.7.2 The term “total net market value of acquired properties” as
used in these directives shall mean the average of ask or reserve price of acquired properties and the highest offer bid amount registered at the last auction in the market that preceded the acquisition by a bank for properties which previously were offered by borrowers as collateral against loans or advances. The highest offer bid amount for auctioned property in absence of a bidder at the last auction shall be zero.
32
4.7.3 “Ask or reserve price” shall mean minimum price at which
the lending bank is willing to sell foreclosed assets.
4.7.4 The term “ industry average recovery rate” means aggregate net cash receipts plus total net market value of acquired properties, divided by the aggregate outstanding principal balance of the loans or advances backed by the collateral at the time the collateral was seized, foreclosed, repossessed or otherwise acquired by all banks operating in Ethiopia calculated over the period of 18 consecutive months preceding the date of determining minimum provision requirement. In case a loan or an advance is secured by more than one collateral, such loan or advance and the collateral backing it shall be excluded from computation of industry average recovery rate unless all properties held as collateral against the loan or advance are sold or otherwise acquired by banks. The National Bank of Ethiopia shall compute such industry average recovery rate every calendar quarter and distribute to all banks operating in Ethiopia.
4.7.5 In determining the average recovery rate as set out under
4.7.1 herein above, the net market value of acquired property and/or the net cash receipt from the sale of collateral shall not exceed 100% of each outstanding non-performing loan backed by the collateral and used in the calculation of the average recovery rate.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 4.8 “Non-accrual Status” means that a loan or advance has been placed on a
cash basis for financial reporting purposes. Interest on such loans or advances accrued on the books of the bank, or for which a specific reserve (such as a suspended interest account) has been established by the bank to offset the full amount of interest being accrued, shall not be taken into income unless as otherwise provided in these directives.
4.9 “Non-performing” means loans or advances whose credit quality has
deteriorated such that full collection of principal and/or interest in accordance with the contractual repayment terms of the loan or advance is in question.
33
4.9.1 For purposes of these directives, loans or advances with pre-established repayment programs are non-performing when principal and/or interest is due and uncollected for 90 (ninety) consecutive days or more beyond the scheduled payment date or maturity.
4.9.2 For purposes of these directives, overdrafts and loans or advances
that do not have a pre-established repayment program shall be non-performing when:
a) The debt remains outstanding for 90 (ninety)
consecutive days or more beyond the scheduled payment date or maturity;
b) The debt exceeds the borrower’s approved limit for 90
(ninety) consecutive days or more; c) Interest is due and uncollected for 90 (ninety)
consecutive days or more; or d) For overdrafts, (i) the account has been inactive for
90 (ninety) consecutive days or (ii) deposits are insufficient to cover the interest capitalized during 90 (ninety) consecutive days or (iii) the account fails to show the following debit balance at least once over 360 days preceding the date of loan review:
i. 20% of approved limit or less latest by June 30, 2008; ii. 5% or less effective from June 30, 2009.
4.9.3 For purposes of these directives, the entire principal balance of loans or advances outstanding exhibiting the characteristics described under 4.9.1 and 4.9.2 shall be considered as non-performing.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
4.10 “Overdraft” means a deposit account on the books of the bank with a
debit balance. 4.11 “Person” shall mean any judicial and natural person.
4.12 “Provisions for Loan Losses Account” means a balance sheet
valuation account established through charges to provision expense in the income statement in respect of possible losses in the loans or advances portfolio.
34
4.13 “Renegotiated Loans or Advances” means loans or advances, which
have been refinanced, rescheduled, rolled-over, or otherwise modified at favorable terms and conditions for the borrower because of weaknesses in the borrower’s financial condition and/or ability to repay.
4.14 “Short or medium term loans” means loans or advances with original
repayment or maturity period of 5 (five) years or less. 4.15 “Suspended Interest Account” means an account where previously
accrued but uncollected interest on loans or advances required to be placed on non-accrual status is reserved out of the income of the bank.
4.16 “Total capital” shall mean the paid up capital, legal reserve and any
other unencumbered reserve acceptable to the National Bank of Ethiopia held by a bank.
4.17 “Well-Secured” means that a loan or advance is secured by cash
collateral or cash-substitutes sufficient to repay the full debt (principal plus accrued interest); for purposes of these directives, sufficiency shall include proper legal documentation evidencing the bank’s claim on the collateral.
5. Responsibility for Loan Review and Specific Requirements 5.1 The board of directors of each bank is responsible for establishing a loan
review system which:
5.1.1 recognizes accurately and timely problem of deteriorating loans or advances.
5.1.2 assures the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
5.1.3 assures that accrued but uncollected interest reflected on the books of
the bank are in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives.
5.1.4 ensures that overdraft facilities are properly used by borrowers only
for the purpose specified in the loan contract they entered with the
35
bank, and in case such loans are diverted from the intended purpose enables to take timely, prompt and appropriate correction actions.
5.2 The board of directors of each bank shall assure that a review is made of the
quality of the bank’s loans or advances portfolio on a regular basis, but no less than once each calendar quarter. At the end of each calendar quarter, or more frequently if warranted, the board of directors shall require the executive officer(s) of the bank to take appropriate measures in response to the findings of the loan review function to:
5.2.1 Accurately reflect earnings by assuring that
all loans or advances categorized as non-performing in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives are placed on non-accrual status and accrued but uncollected interest has been reversed out of the bank’s income;
5.2.2 Assure that the Provisions for Loan Losses
Account is adequate to absorb potential losses in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives; and
5.2.3 Correct problems, either in individual loans or
advances, loan underwriting practices, compliance with prudent lending standards and the board-approved lending policy, or other credit administration weaknesses as may be identified by the loan review function, within a specified time frame.
5.3 The board of directors of each bank shall maintain adequate records
supporting its evaluation of potential losses in the loans or advances portfolio and the entries made to reflect earnings and the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account; such records shall be made available to examining personnel of the National Bank of Ethiopia upon request.
5.4 The loan review function shall assure on an on-going basis, at a minimum,
that:
5.4.1 Lending activities are in compliance with prudent written lending standards as approved and adopted by the board of directors;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
5.4.2 The borrowers are using overdraft facilities
for the purpose they negotiated with the bank; and incase of diversion
36
from the intended purpose that timely measures are taken to correct the problem.
5.4.3 The board of directors is adequately informed
of the risks and potential loss exposure in outstanding loans or advances;
5.4.4 Problem or deteriorating loans or advances
are properly and timely identified, classified, and placed on non-accrual status in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives;
5.4.5 Appropriate provisions are made to the
Provisions for Loan Losses Account for loans or advances classified in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives; and
5.4.6 Uncollectible non-performing loans or
advances are written off as appropriate. 5.5 The loan review function shall regularly and on an ongoing basis review all
loans or advances which exceed 5% (five percent) of a bank’s total capital to a single borrower, calculated in accordance with the Single Borrower Loan Limit, all loans or advances required to be placed on non-accrual status in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives, and a sampling of the remaining loans or advances portfolio to determine that:
5.5.1 loans or advances reflected as performing on
the books of the bank are in fact performing pursuant to the requirements and definitions laid out in these directives, and
5.5.2 overdraft facilities are used by borrowers for the intended purpose.
5.6 The loan review function shall be performed by the board of directors of each bank or a group of individuals to be designated by the board of directors, who are knowledgeable in credit analysis methodologies and who are not involved in the lending activities of the bank. In the latter case, the group shall on a regular basis, but not less than once each calendar quarter, report its findings directly to the board of directors in writing.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
37
6. Placement of Loans or Advances on Non-accrual Status
6.1 All non-performing loans shall be placed on non-accrual status, unless the loans or advances are (i) well-secured and (ii) in process of collection.
6.2 Accrued but uncollected interest being carried on the books
for loans or advances which are required to be placed on non-accrual status in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives shall be eliminated by the end of the calendar quarter in which the loans or advances are required to be placed on non-accrual status, but in no event later than the fiscal year-end date of the bank, whichever is sooner.
6.3 A non-performing loan or advance placed on non-accrual
status may be restored to accrual status only when:
6.3.1 None of the outstanding principal and/or interest is past due; and 6.3.2 For renegotiated loans or advances, where all past due
interest is paid by the borrower in cash at the time of renegotiation and the loan or advance is not classified as substandard in accordance with 7.1.6. of these directives.
6.4 Banks shall report to the National Bank of Ethiopia on a quarterly basis loans or advances which exceed 5% (five percent) of the bank's capital that have been restored from non-accrual to accrual status.
6.5 If a bank has multiple loans outstanding to a single borrower as
calculated in accordance with the Single Borrower Loan Limit, and one loan or advance meets the criteria for non-accrual status, then the bank shall prepare a current written evaluation of the borrower’s creditworthiness evidencing that repayment prospects for the other loans or advances are reasonably assured; should such written creditworthiness evaluation suggest that repayment prospects for the other loans or advances are in question or otherwise uncertain, then all such loans or advances to the borrower shall be placed on non-accrual status regardless of any requirements laid out in these directives.
38
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 7. Classification of Loans or Advances
7.1 For purposes of these directives, banks shall classify all loans and advances, whether such loans or advances have pre-established repayment programs or not, into the following five classification categories using the criteria described below:
7.1.1 Pass Loans or advances in this category are fully protected by the current financial and paying capacity of the borrower and are not subject to criticism. In general, any loan or advance, or portion thereof, which is fully secured, both as to principal and interest, by cash or cash-substitutes, shall be classified under this category regardless of past due status or other adverse credit factors.
7.1.2 Special Mention
The following loans and advance at a minimum shall be classified special mention:
a) loans or advances with pre-established repayment programs
past due 30 (thirty) days or more, but less than 90 (ninety) days;
b) overdrafts and loans or advances that do not have a pre-
established repayment program, if :
i. The debt remains outstanding for 30 (thirty) consecutive days or more beyond the scheduled payment date or
maturity, but less than 90 (ninety) days; or
ii. The debt exceeds the borrower’s approved limit for 30 (thirty) consecutive days or more, but less than 90
(ninety) days; or
iii. Interest is due and uncollected for 30 (thirty) consecutive days or more; but less than 90 (ninety) days
; or
iv. For overdrafts, the account has been inactive for 30 (thirty) consecutive days or more, but less than 90
(ninety) days or the account fails to show the following
39
debit balance at least once over 360 days preceding the date of loan review:
1) ten to nineteen percent of the approved limit latest by
June 30, 2008; ¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
2) one to four percent of the approved limit effective from June 30, 2009.
7.1.3 Substandard
The following non-performing loans and advances at a minimum shall be classified substandard: a. loans or advances with pre-established repayment programs
past due 90 (ninety) days or more, but less than 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days;
b. overdrafts and loans or advances that do not have a pre-
established repayment program, if:
i. The debt remains outstanding for 90 (ninety) consecutive days or more beyond the scheduled payment date or maturity, but less than 180 (one-
hundred-eighty) days; or
ii. The debt exceeds the borrower’s approved limit for 90 (ninety) consecutive days or more, but less than 180
(one-hundred-eighty) days; or
iii. Interest is due and uncollected for 90 (ninety) days or more, but less than 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days; or
iv. For overdrafts, the account has been inactive for 90
(ninety) consecutive days or more, but less than 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days; or the account fails to show the following debit balance at least once over 360 days
preceding the date of loan review:
1) twenty to thirty-nine percent of the approved limit latest by June 30, 2008;
40
2) five to nineteen percent of the approved limit effective from June 30, 2009.
7.1.4 Doubtful
The following non-performing loans and advances at a minimum shall be classified doubtful: a. loans or advances with pre-established repayment programs: past
due 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days or more, but less than 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
b. overdrafts and loans or advances that do not have a pre-established
repayment program, if :
i. the debt remains outstanding for 180 (one-hundred-eighty) consecutive days or more beyond the scheduled payment date or maturity, but less than 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days; or
ii. the debt exceeds the borrower’s approved limit for 180 (one-
hundred-eighty) consecutive days or more, but less than 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days; or
iii. interest is due and uncollected for 180 (one-hundred-eighty) days
or more, but less than 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days; or
iv. for overdrafts, the account has been inactive for 180 (one-hundred-eighty) consecutive days or more, but less than 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days; or the account fails to show the following debit balance at least once over 360 days preceding the date of loan review:
1) forty to sixty-nine percent of the approved limit latest
by June 30, 2008; 2) twenty to forty-nine percent of the approved limit
effective from June 30, 2009.
7.1.5 Loss
The following non-performing loans and advances at a minimum shall be classified loss:
41
a) None performing loans or advances with pre-established repayment programs past due 360 (three-hundred-sixty)
days or more;
b) overdrafts and loans or advances that do not have a pre-established repayment program, if :
i. The debt remains outstanding for 360 (three-
hundred-sixty) consecutive days or more beyond the scheduled payment date or maturity; or
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
ii. The debt exceeds the borrower’s approved limit for 360 (three-hundred-sixty) days or more; or
iii. Interest is due and uncollected for 360 (three-
hundred-sixty) days or more; or
iv. For overdrafts, the account has been inactive for 360 (three-hundred-sixty) consecutive days or more,
or the account fails to show the following debit balance at least once over 360 days preceding the
date of loan review:
1) seventy percent and above of the approved limit latest by June 30, 2008;
2) fifty percent and above of the approved limit
effective from June 30, 2009.
7.1.6 Without prejudice to the classification criteria used for the Sub-Standard category set out under 7.1.3 herein above, the following non-performing loans and advances shall be categorized as substandard:
a) Renegotiated term loans unless equivalent of all past due
interest is paid by the borrower in cash at the time of renegotiation and the following payments are made by the borrower on a consistent and timely basis in accordance with the restructured terms of the loan or advance:
42
i. in the case of term loans with monthly or quarterly installment repayments, at least 3 (three) consecutive repayments;
ii. in the case of loans with semi-annual installment
repayments, at least 2 (two) consecutive repayments;
iii. in the case of loans with annual installment repayments, at least one repayment;
b) Renegotiated non-performing overdraft facilities unless equivalent of all past due interest is paid by the borrower in cash at the time of renegotiation and the account shows at a minimum:
i. a nil balance at least once; or ii. a turnover rate of once the approved limit.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
c) Renegotiated non-performing merchandize loans unless
physical inventory of the merchandize taken by the bank at the time of renegotiation shows that the outstanding principal loan and interest thereof are fully covered and the safety margin determined following the inventory is at least not lower than the margin stated in the loan contract entered into by the bank and the borrower at the time of initial extension of the loan.
7.1.7 If a bank has multiple loans outstanding to a single borrower as
calculated in accordance with the Single Borrower Loan Limit, and one loan or advance meets the criteria for non performing, then the bank shall prepare a current written evaluation of the borrower’s creditworthiness evidencing that repayment prospects for the other loans or advances are reasonably assured; should such written creditworthiness evaluation suggest that repayment prospects for the other loans or advances are in question or otherwise uncertain, then all such loans or advances to the borrower shall at a minimum be classified substandard regardless of any requirements laid out in these directives.
7.1.8 A bank shall not reschedule, restructure or renegotiate short or
medium term loan to a borrower for more than three iterations. Before rescheduling, restructuring or renegotiating a short or a
43
medium term loan, a bank shall collect in cash full amount of interest in arrears thereof and the following principal amounts:
a. a minimum of 25% of outstanding principal balance in
case of rescheduling, restructuring or renegotiating for the second time.
b. a minimum of 50% of outstanding principal balance in
case of rescheduling, restructuring or renegotiating for the third time.
7.2 Notwithstanding the classification criteria laid out under 7.1 herein
above, loans or advances may be subject to more severe classification by examiners of the National Bank of Ethiopia if the actual condition of the loan or advance warrants such classification. Conditions that warrant more severe classification may include, but are not limited to: (i) significant departure from the primary source of repayment; (ii) repayment terms which are too liberal or inconsistent with the purpose and nature of the loan or advance and/or collateral held; (iii) delinquencies which have been technically cured by modifying the repayment terms, refinancing or renewing the loan or advance, or
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
advancing additional funds for the purpose of meeting repayment requirements on an existing loan or advance.
8. Provisioning Requirements for Loans or Advances 8.1 All banks shall maintain a Provisions for Loan Losses Account which shall
be created by charges to provision expense in the income statement and shall be maintained at a level adequate to absorb potential losses in the loans or advances portfolio. In determining the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account, provisions may be attributed to individual loans or advances or groups of loans or advances.
8.2 The Provisions for Loan Losses Account shall always have a credit
balance. Additions to or reductions of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account shall be made only through charges to provisions in the income statement at least every calendar quarter.
8.3 Banks shall maintain the following minimum provision percentages against
the outstanding principal amount of each loan or advance classified in
44
accordance with the criteria for the classification of loans or advances as laid out under article 7 herein above:
Classification Category Minimum Provision
8.3.1 “Pass” 1% 8.3.2 “Special Mention” 3% 8.3.3 “Substandard” 20% 8.3.4 “Doubtful” 50% 8.3.5 “Loss” 100%
8.4 Where reliable information, such as (i) historical loan loss experience, (ii)
current economic conditions, (iii) delinquency trends, (iv) ineffectiveness of lending policies and/or collection procedures, or (v) lack of timeliness and accuracy in the loan review function, suggests that losses are likely to be more than the above minimum provision percentages, banks may be required to maintain larger provisions.
8.5 The minimum provision requirements for each classification category here
in above shall be applied against the total outstanding principal balance, not against the amount of past due payments, for each loan or advance, or portion thereof, classified regardless of whether the loan or advance is analyzed and provided for individually or as part of a group.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
8.6 Before applying the minimum provision percentages laid out under 8.3.3,
8.3.4 and 8.3.5 herein above, banks may deduct from the outstanding non-performing loans or advances:
8.6.1 any accrued but uncollected interest held in a suspended interest
account (by debiting this account); and 8.6.2 in the case of loans secured by physical collateral net recoverable
value, or estimated collateral value backing the non performing loan; whichever is lower.
8.7 Not withstanding deductions stipulated under 8.6 herein above, minimum
provision percentage maintained by a bank for each loan or advance classified as 'non performing' shall not be less than 3 percent of the outstanding loan or advance.
45
9. Portfolio Composition and Review of Financial Statements of Borrowers 9.1 The share of overdraft loans (excluding those secured by cash
collateral) in total loans or advances portfolio of a bank shall not exceed at any time:
9.1.1 30 percent by June 30, 2008; 9.1.2 25 percent starting from June 30, 2009.
9.2 Banks shall review financial statements for the latest financial year of a
borrower, who has been in business for a year or above, audited by external auditors before granting loans or advances of:
9.2.1 Birr 10 million or above starting from June 30, 2008; 9.2.2 Birr 5 million or above starting from June 30, 2009.
10. Examiner Review 10.1 Each bank shall maintain adequate records in support of its evaluation of
potential loss exposure in the loans or advances portfolio and of the entries made to ensure an adequate Provisions for Loan Losses Account which shall be made available to examining personnel of the National Bank of Ethiopia upon request to assess the reasonableness of the bank’s loss estimation procedures, the reliability of the information on which estimates are based, and the adequacy of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 10.2 Should examining personnel in applying the requirements of these
directives and after discussions with the executive officer(s) of the bank find the Provisions for Loan Losses Account to be inadequate by more than 10% (ten percent) when compared to the findings of an on-site examination, the board of directors shall within 30 (thirty) days of such notice by the National Bank of Ethiopia of any deficiency in the Provisions for Loan Losses Account require the executive officer(s) to record the appropriate entries to increase the balance of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account to a level which is within 10% (ten percent) of the estimated amount of the Provisions for Loan Losses Account determined by examining personnel of the National Bank of Ethiopia.
10.3 In the event of material disagreements between examining personnel of
the National Bank of Ethiopia and the executive officer(s) of the bank regarding the appropriateness of additional provisions needed to the
46
Provisions for Loan Losses Account, the board of directors may appeal to the National Bank of Ethiopia. Notwithstanding this appeal, it is incumbent on the executive officer(s) of the bank to attend all loan discussions and meetings during on-site inspections in order to be fully apprised of examiner concerns with respect to all classified loans or advances.
11. Other Provisioning Requirements 11.1 Provision for depreciation of fixed assets shall be made out of the annual
income of a bank in accordance with the law. 11.2 Operating and accumulated losses shall be provided for from the annual
net profit until such losses are fully covered. 11.3 The value of any assets lodged or pledged to secure a liability, as
indicated under Article 15(1)(d) of Proclamation No. 84/1994, shall be fully provided for upon the lodging or pledging of any asset.
11.4 Preliminary expenses representing expenses relating to organization or
extension or the purchase of business or good will and including share-underwriting commission shall be fully provided for within 5 (five) years.
11.5 Any uncollectible claims, other than loans or advances, shall be
classified and provided for in the same manner and method laid down in these directives for term loans with monthly repayment program or otherwise written off as other operating expense of the bank as they are identified.
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
12. Interpretation of the Directives
All loans or advances held by a bank must be accounted for and categorized in accordance with the requirements laid out in these directives. No interpretation of these directives shall be permitted unless confirmed in writing by the National Bank of Ethiopia. In recording a loan or advance not covered in principle by the requirements laid out in these directives, a bank shall make a written request to the National Bank of Ethiopia to confirm the proper application of the requirements laid out in these directives.
13. Reporting
47
Banks shall submit to the Banking Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia a quarterly report on loan classification and provisioning in accordance with the table attached with these directives, which shall be part of the Directive.
14. Repeal
Directive No. SBB/32/2002 is hereby repealed and replaced by these directives.
15. Effective Date
These directives shall enter into force as of the 1st day of January 2008.
6 LIQUIDITY REQUIREMENT
(3rd replacement)
Directives No. SBB/44/08
1. Issuing Authority
This directives are issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia pursuant to the authority vested in it by Article 41 of the Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and by Article 16 of the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
2. Definitions
2.1 For the purpose of liquidity requirement "liquid assets", in addition
to what has been provided for under 16(2) of Proclamation No. 84/1994,
include deposits held in Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) member countries currencies and payable by
banks of OECD countries and in such other currencies as may be
approved by the National Bank of Ethiopia as well as securities issued by
OECD countries denominated in currencies of such countries with
tenures as indicated under article 16 (2)(b) of Licensing and Supervision
of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994.
48
2.2 "Current liabilities" shall mean the sum of demand (current)
deposits, savings deposits and time deposits and similar liabilities with less than one-month maturity period.
1 of 2
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
3. Total Requirement
Any licensed bank shall maintain liquid assets of not less than 25% (twenty five percent) of its total current liabilities.
4. Specific Requirements For the purpose of meeting the liquidity requirement, each bank shall maintain:
4.1 at least twenty percent (20%) of the current liabilities in the form of
primary reserve assets; and
4.2 five percent (5%) of the current liabilities in the form of secondary
reserve assets.
5. Reports Banks shall submit to the Banking Supervision Department of the
National Bank of Ethiopia properly certified weekly liquidity positions
showing the end-of-week balances of each Wednesday not later than
Tuesday of the following week.
6. Repeal Directives No. SBB/15/96 are hereby repealed and replaced by this Directives.
7. Effective Date
This Directives shall enter into force as of the 7th day of April 2008.
49
RESERVE REQUIREMENT (4th Replacement)
DIRECTIVE NO. SBB/45/2008
Whereas, the National Bank of Ethiopia is vested with powers, duties and responsibilities of monetary management and regulation and supervision of banks; Whereas, statutory reserve requirement, which obliges banks to hold a proportion of their deposit balance with the National Bank of Ethiopia, is one of the important monetary policy instruments and prudential regulation tools; Whereas, liquidity in the banking system remained relatively high; Whereas, commercial banks have strong incentive to enhance profitability through credit extension; Whereas, it has been found necessary to check monetary growth so as to avoid risk of high inflation and ensure a stable macroeconomic environment for a healthy economic growth; Now, therefore, the National Bank of Ethiopia has issued these directives pursuant to the authorities vested in it by Article 41 of Monetary and Banking Proclamation No. 83/1994 and article 16 of Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994. ¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA 1. Short Title
These Directives may be cited as " Reserve Requirement - 4th Replacement " Directives No. SBB/45/2008.
2. Opening Accounts with the National Bank of Ethiopia
Banks operating in Ethiopia shall open two separate Birr accounts with the National Bank of Ethiopia to be used as follows:
2.1. Reserve Account
50
c) A reserve account shall exclusively be used to maintain the reserve balance stated under article 2 of these directives;
d) No bank shall withdraw any money from its reserve account
without prior approval of the Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia.
2.2 Payments and Settlement Account
A payments and settlement account shall be used to carry out all day-to-day transactions of banks through the National Bank of Ethiopia.
3. Requirement
Any bank operating in Ethiopia shall at all times maintain in its Reserve Account stated under article 2.1 of these directives 15% (fifteen percent) of all Birr and foreign currency deposit liabilities held in the form of demand (current) deposits, saving deposits and time deposits.
4. Computation of Reserve
4.1 Cash items in process of collection, if included under deposits, shall be deducted therefrom in computing the balance of total deposits for reserve purposes;
4.2 Cash items in process of collection through the National Bank of
Ethiopia shall not be acceptable as reserve until credited to the reserve account;
¾›=ƒÄåÁ wN?^© v”¡ NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
4.3 The reserve required shall be computed on the net deposit balance, i.e. excluding cash items in process of collection, shown at the end of each reporting week.
5. Reserve Deficiencies
5.1 Deficiencies in reserve balance are subject to a penalty; 5.2 The penalty shall be assessed at a rate twice the current average
rate of interest on loans and advances charged by banks computed on the amount of the deficiency in reserve and multiplied by the number of days over which the reserve account remained deficient;
51
5.3 The National Bank of Ethiopia may waive the penalty stated herein
above on grounds it considers acceptable. 6. Reports
For the purpose of determining strict compliance with the reserve requirement stated under article 2 of these Directives, properly checked and signed reports, showing balances as of each Wednesday, shall be submitted to the Supervision Department of the National Bank of Ethiopia. The reports shall be submitted not later than Tuesday of the following week and shall show the balance of each type of deposit under article 2 herein above, reserve balance with National Bank of Ethiopia and the excess/shortfall in reserves.
7. Repeal
Directives No. SBB/42/2007 is hereby repealed and replaced by these Directives.
8. Effective Date
These Directives shall enter into force as of the 7th day of April 2008.
top related