DBE President Resigns Following Board Reshuffle

Yohannes Ayalew oversaw impressive turnaround during four-year tenure

Yohannes Ayalew (PhD) has resigned from his post as president of the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) after four years at the helm overseeing a radical improvement in the ailing policy bank’s books.

Getachew Belay, DBE’s Acting Vice president for corporate, has overtook as acting president of the bank, to fill the void, according to sources.

Yohannes came on board at DBE in September 2020, replacing Haileyesus Bekele at a time when the state policy bank was in deep trouble. DBE’s non-performing loan ratio had climbed to a staggering 57 percent at around the time of the leadership change.

The poor performance had led lawmakers at Parliament to consider dissolving the bank as it struggled under the weight of years of alleged embezzlement, foregone loans, and investment in failed commercial farming projects largely concentrated in the Gambella region.

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Yohannes’ four-year tenure saw a successful turnaround at DBE, which has managed to get its NPL ratio to 6.5 percent under his leadership. Yohannes oversaw comprehensive reform efforts at the bank, which were rewarded with reports of profits following several years of heavy losses.

DBE staff who worked under Yohannes said their farewells to the outgoing president on Friday, one week after he tendered his resignation, according to The Reporter’s sources.

“He delivered nothing but efficiency and unmatched performance,” said one staff member who spoke anonymously.

Sources say that although Yohannes cited personal reasons for his abrupt and unexpected resignation, a recent shuffle on the DBE board is behind the move.

In February 2024, the federal government moved to reshuffle the boards of the DBE and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).

Teklewold Atnafu, a monetary policy advisor to the Prime Minister, was assigned as chair of the DBE board from his position as chair of the CBE board. He replaced Tegegnework Gettu, a former under-secretary-general of the UN Development Program (UNDP).

Finance Minister Ahmed Shide replaced Teklewold as CBE board chair.

The reshuffle reunited Yohannes and Teklewold, who had previously worked together at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). The latter was NBE governor for over two decades under the EPRDF regime, while Yohannes had served a tenure as vice governor and chief economist at the central bank for several years.

Sources claim Yohannes’ resignation is related to tensions with his former boss.