Bank Allowed Customers to Withdraw Any Amount Exceeding Their Savings

After a glitch that led to the withdrawal of millions of dollars, the largest commercial bank in Ethiopia is striving to recover the funds that customers mistakenly withdrew. Customers of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) were surprised last Saturday to find that they could withdraw any amount of cash they wanted, even if it exceeded the value of their savings in their bank accounts. Local media reported that more than $40 million were withdrawn or transferred to other banks. The bank addressed the error several hours later, freezing all financial transactions and bank transfers. The bank's president, Abiy Sano, told reporters on Monday that most of the funds were withdrawn by students from the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Following the story circulating on social media, hundreds lined up at ATMs to withdraw money. It is noted that the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has more than 38 million customers with accounts at the bank, which was established 82 years ago.