SIINQEE BANK officially announces its open for business
Siinqee bank announces its official operation becoming the first bank to transfer from micro-financing. On Thursday September 22, 2022 the bank held its official opening ceremony with the presence of higher government officials and its customers.
Speaking at the occasion, Neway Megersa, president of the bank, said that the bank has prepared to give both banking and micro finance services to its customers. On February 16, 2022, Siinqee officially received its license from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) to start operations with a subscribed capital of 15 billion birr and a paid up capital of 7 billion birr following its transformation from Oromia Credit and Saving Share Company staring from May 2021.
Following the issuance of proclamation no.40/1996, a proclamation that determined the licensing and supervision of micro finance institutions, Oromia Credit and Saving Share Company was established in August 1997 to give micro finance services obtaining an operational license from NBE and trading license from the federal Ministry of Trade and Industry. “The purpose of the establishment was because of the inaccessibility of contemporary financial services to the rural people in the region which contributes to their impoverishment,” said the president. According to him, with in the past six month the bank has served over one million clients including farmers, women, unemployed youths, traders, Medium and Small-scale Enterprise operators, women entrepreneurs and others. The bank president also emphasized that the vision of the bank is to be the first (the leading bank) in the next five years and be one of Africa's largest banks.
Six month ago, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) approved the appointment of Neway Megersa as the first president of Siinqee Bank. The company has also appointed Zewdie Tefera, who has been working as acting president of the bank as the Chief Operating Officer.
The change came through the proclamation no 626/2009 and NBE directive no SBB/74/2020, which allows microfinance institutions to evolve into commercial banks with a two-year transition period, to which the executives of the microfinance made the transformation from microfinance to banking services. The company was thus renamed to Siinqee Bank, which is sourced from the cultural institution of Oromo women. Currently, the company has more than 400 full-fledged branches which 250 of these branches has got the NBE permit to start operating while the rest 155 are waiting the permits.