Standard Bank has become the first foreign bank to secure formal approval under Ethiopia’s revised Banking Business Proclamation, the National Bank of Ethiopia confirmed.

The Johannesburg-headquartered lender, which has maintained a representative office in Addis Ababa, now operates fully under NBE supervision. The move reflects a wider regulatory shift that transferred the licensing of foreign bank liaison offices from the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration to the central bank.

Representative offices like Standard Bank’s are limited to liaison, research and promotional functions and are prohibited from offering banking services or handling financial transactions. Under the new framework, foreign banks must provide detailed corporate documentation, assurances from their parent institutions, and a minimum operational deposit equivalent to one hundred thousand US dollars to qualify for re-licensing.

The step aligns with Ethiopia’s broader ambition to open its banking sector to foreign participation. Under the revised laws, international banks can enter the market via branches, subsidiaries or equity investment. Standard Bank, one of Africa’s largest banking groups with operations in over twenty countries, is now positioned to strengthen its engagement in the country’s financial sector.

NBE is currently reviewing applications from other foreign banks seeking to establish or renew representative offices under the new rules, signalling a potential influx of international players in Ethiopia’s evolving banking landscape.