split the State Bank of Ethiopia into two banks, the National Bank of Ethiopia (the central bank), and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). Seven years later, the Sudanese government nationalized the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia's branch in Khartoum that had originally been the Sudan branch of SBD. The Ethiopian government merged Addis Bank into the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in 1980 to make CBE the sole commercial bank in the country. The government had created Addis Bank from the merger of the newly nationalized Addis Ababa Bank, and the Ethiopian operations of the Banco di Roma and Banco di Napoli. Addis Ababa Bank was an affiliate that National and Grindlays Bank had established in 1963 and of which it owned 40%. At the time of nationalization, Addis Ababa Bank had 26 branches. The merger of Addis Ababa Bank with CBE made CBE the sole commercial bank in Ethiopia, with 128 branches and 3,633 employees. In 1991, when Eritrea achieved its independence, the Eritrean government nationalized the branches there. In 1994 these branches formed the basis for what became the Commercial Bank of Eritrea. Also in 1994, the Ethiopian government reorganized and reestablished CBE. In 2004, CBE closed its branch in Djibouti due to problems with loan losses. In January 2009, CBE received regulatory approval to open a branch in Juba, Southern Sudan. CBE expanded its presence in South Sudan to five branches in Juba and Malakal, but ongoing conflict in the country has forced CBE to close all but two branches in Juba. A few years ago, the government restructured CBE and signed a contract with Royal Bank of Scotland for management consultancy services. After the death of its former President Gezahegn Yilma, the Board of Management appointed Abie Sano as a new President of the Bank. The Parliament recently increased the bank's capital to 4 billion Ethiopian birr. The bank has reached 1284 branches as of 10 August 2018. See also List of banks in Ethiopia References External links Official Website Banks of Ethiopia Banks established in 1963 Buildings and structures in Addis Ababa Companies based in Addis Ababa 1963 establishments in Ethiopia Government-owned companies of Ethiopia