CBE opens door to all transfer agents

(By Addis Mulugeta- Capital) The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), aiming to increase currency inflows, has issued a new directive enabling commercial banks to accept transfers from any agent.
Bekele Ayele, Communication Officer at the central bank, told Capital the move should ease remittances, as before the senders were forced to work only with correspondent banks.
“Now anyone can send money through any money transfer agent and it can be received in the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). This loosening of restrictions should work to ease the foreign currency shortages,” said Bekele.
NBE’s 2008/09 half year performance indicates the 392 million dollars remittances is a 19% increase from last year’s figure.
Analysts are fearful that the slight rise may be the calm before the storm, as the world economic downturn worsens. They point to Morocco’s experience in the 1980s crisis where remittances increased at the start of the crisis only to collapse as the recession grew deeper.
In a press conference held last Friday PM Meles Zenawi, responding to Capital’s question, affirmed the IMF’s remarks that Ethiopia’s remitances thugh having slightly risen recnetly will be challenged by the global economic slowdown. The rise, he said, is rather due to accounting boosted by inclusion of transfers into the legal chanels.
According to Bekele, the current shortage of foreign currency is due to the trade deficit and the increase in the price of oil in the last two years.
The report shows imports have already reached 64% of last year’s total while exports stand at a mere 30% of 2007/08’s total of close to one billion dollars.