Details on CBE’s mortgage loans for Ethiopians in the diaspora

As part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s economic reforms, there has been a bold move to allow significant private involvement in a hitherto state-controlled economy.

In late August, Abiy after chairing a Macroeconomic Committee issued a number of forex regulation adjustments for a country that has long suffered a dollar crunch.

1. The Committee raised the interest rate yield for “27% NBE bill” that requires private banks to purchase National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) bonds from the current 3% to 5%.
2. They also removed the current diaspora account limit of USD 50,000. Diaspora account holders can now save unlimited amount in Forex.
3. NBE’s purchase of 30% of the forex earnings of the private banks will be at mid rate instead of the current buying rate.
4.  Per their decision, the list of businesses that are eligible to accept payments in foreign currency has also been expanded to include airports, telecom services, chartered private airlines, guest houses, specialized clinics and hospitals serving foreign clients.