National Bank of Ethiopia Fully Allocates $500 Million in Special FX Auction as Bids Reach $710 Million
ADDIS ABABA — The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) completed another major central bank intervention on Thursday, August 20, 2026, allocating its full $500 million offer to commercial banks in a special foreign exchange auction. First announced by the central bank on August 19 for monetary policy purposes, the high-volume intervention aimed to address foreign exchange demand, stabilize domestic market liquidity, and support structured currency allocation across the national banking sector.
The auction was executed through the Central Securities Depository (CSD)-based FX auction system, with commercial banks submitting competitive bids during a two-hour window between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Following swift evaluations, the central bank announced the official results at 3:00 PM, confirming that all winning transactions would undergo full settlement by the end of the day. A total of 22 commercial banks participated in the exercise, with 21 institutions successfully securing allocations, representing a nearly 95.5 percent clearing rate for participating lenders.
Commercial banks generated $710.14 million in total bid volume, oversubscribing the initial $500 million supply by $210.14 million. Bidding rates settled in a tight band, opening at a low rate of 159.5003 Birr per USD and peaking at 160.2500 Birr per USD. The central bank established a marginal call cut-off rate of 160.2121 Birr per USD, while the overall weighted average rate of successful bids cleared at 160.2144 Birr per USD.
Compared to previous large-scale central bank interventions, such as the $500 million auction held in mid-May 2026 which saw $1.06 billion in demand, total bidding volume dropped by roughly 33 percent. This decline in total bid pressure suggests that sequential large-scale auctions are gradually absorbing backlog demand across commercial balance sheets. Furthermore, winning participation expanded significantly from 14 banks in May to 21 banks in August, indicating a far broader and more equitable distribution of foreign currency liquidity across the commercial banking system.
