Development Bank of Ethiopia adopts new disclosure and financial-crime policies
The state-owned Development Bank of Ethiopia has approved new privacy, risk, audit and financial-crime controls, including permanent protection for specified client, legal and security records.
In short
- The state-owned Development Bank of Ethiopia has approved new privacy, risk, audit and financial-crime controls, including permanent protection for specified client, legal and security records.
The Development Bank of Ethiopia has adopted new policies covering information disclosure, fraud monitoring, anti-money-laundering controls, risk management and internal audit as part of an institutional overhaul.
The state-owned lender’s new framework requires regular reporting to the National Bank of Ethiopia on measures intended to prevent fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing.
Its Information Disclosure Policy classifies several categories as ineligible for declassification, including client credit records, internal strategy documents, legal case files, security protocols, classified communications and confidential third-party contracts.
The bank says permanent protection is intended for information whose release could substantially harm its operations, stakeholders or the national interest. The policy also permits the bank to reject requests that would require it to create or collect information not held in its records or management systems.
The changes follow the December 2025 appointment of Esayas Kassa as president of the bank. He previously served as deputy head of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority. The bank is among the state-owned enterprises overseen by Ethiopian Investment Holdings.
The package strengthens formal privacy and financial-crime controls, while the breadth and implementation of permanent confidentiality provisions will shape how the bank balances protection of sensitive records with public accountability.
