The existing proclamation, which was issued sixteen years ago, has been significantly altered by the new law. The draft proclamation that will amend the proclamation no 592/2008, issued in 2008 and amended in 2019, will allow banks to form subsidiaries. It states that the NBE may allow for the establishment of a specialized bank or conversion from/to a specialized bank. The highly anticipated proclamation includes provisions for foreign players to establish partially or fully owned foreign bank subsidiaries, open foreign bank branches, establish representative offices, or acquire shares of a bank. It also states that foreign nationals, other than foreign banks and foreign-owned Ethiopian organizations, may acquire shares in banks.
