Tsehai Shiferaw New Awash Bank President

Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)

Mahlet Mesfin

20 June 2011

Tsehai Shiferaw was appointed as president of Awash International Bank (AIB) on Thursday, June 16, 2011, after serving as acting president since December 2010.

“I want to make reforms in the bank’s services focusing on efficiency and facilitating the major projects of the bank, such as implementing a centralised, online, real-time, electronic (CORE) banking system,” Tsehai told Fortune.

Tsehai , 40, a married father of two, joined AIB as a branch manager in 2005. Since, he has served the bank in different positions, such as credit manager, vice president of credit, and risk manager.

Previously, he also worked as a branch manager at Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).

Tsehai was temporarily appointed as acting president when Leikun Brehanu, the second president of the bank after Bulcha Demeksa, was suspended from his position over an alleged misdemeanour in handling letters of credit that occurred at four of the bank’s branches last year. The case is ongoing at Arada Giorgis First Instance Court, Six Criminal Bench.

During Leikun’s tenure, the bank recorded continuous profits for a decade.

After the recent inauguration of its new headquarters on Ras Abebe Aregay Street, the bank announced a net profit of 247 million Br for the 2009/10 fiscal year.

“We have now established a transparent foreign currency allocation system and I want to keep this up,” Tsehai told Fortune.

Tsehai holds a BA in economics from Addis Abeba University (AAU) and is a post graduate student at the International Leadership Institute (ILI) from where he will graduate in a month.

AIB, the first private international bank, was established in 1996. It has a paid-up capital of 730 million Br and opened it 70th branch, in Nekemt, on Saturday, June 17, 2011.

AIB will open its 71st branch on Africa Avenue (Bole Road) this week, according to the president.

“The bank plans to increase its paid-up capital to one billion Birr soon,” Tsehai told Fortune. “Even though the banking sector is facing some challenges, the AIB can manage it as it has many years of experience. I want to keep the good name the bank has maintained throughout the past 17 years.”

AllAfrica – All the Time