Another set of strong financials put Dashen Bank in the running to be named Bank of the Year in Ethiopia for an impressive fifth time. For the year ending June 2006, the bank reported an 88% rise in net profits and its RoE climbed from 29.3% to 34.6%.
But the clincher for the judges was Dashen Bank’s bold (and risky) investment in a new state-of-the-art core banking system that was successfully implemented, achieving efficiency gains in both back and front office operations. “Dashen has led the market in applying appropriate technologies to bring about modern banking services,” says Lulseged Teferi, president of the bank.
Aside from improving internal efficiencies, the new technology permitted Dashen to launch payment cards into the market, attracting large numbers of new clients and bolstering the image of the bank in the market, according to Mr Teferi.
“In the coming years, as the government builds an IT backbone and creates affordable local-level access to information technologies, Dashen has the chance to become the unparalleled leader in providing banking services electronically,” says Mr Teferi.
The judges also noted Dashen Bank’s efforts to address its non-performing credits, recording a modest improvement in its NPL ratio.
