Banks in Somalia

Who is licensed

In December 2025 Somalia's financial system had 34 licensed core institutions: 13 local commercial banks, 1 international bank branch, 14 money transfer businesses and 6 mobile money operators. In November 2025 the Central Bank also licensed the first 7 microfinance institutions that lend but do not take deposits (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).

Among the largest banks are International Bank of Somalia (IBS), Premier Bank, Salaam Somali Bank, Dahabshil International Bank and Amal Bank (African Business, August 2025). Banks follow Islamic finance rules: they share profit instead of charging interest.

In 2022 Somalia licensed its first two foreign banks since 1970 (The East African).

How big they are

All figures from the Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025:

• Total assets: $2,299 million in December 2025, up 14 percent from $2,020 million. This is about 20 percent of GDP.
• Financing (loans): $540 million, up 14 percent. Trade finance ($205 million) and property loans ($139 million) are the largest parts.
• Investments: $359 million, mostly shares in companies ($215 million) and property ($128 million).
• Customer deposits: $1,630 million, about 82 percent of what banks owe.
• Bad loans: about 3 percent of loans.

How safe they are

The Central Bank requires banks to hold capital of at least 12 percent of their risk-weighted assets. Banks held about 15 percent in December 2025. Their liquid assets were about 54 percent of short-term liabilities, against a minimum of 20 percent. Core capital was about 14 percent, against a minimum of 8 percent (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).

Who borrows

Few families borrow from banks. In the 2022 national household survey, only 2.0 percent of households that borrowed got the loan from a commercial bank. Most borrowed from shops and traders, or from relatives and friends (17.5 percent) (Somali National Bureau of Statistics, SIHBS 2022).

Credit to businesses rose from $222.7 million in 2021 to about $620 million by June 2026, according to the Ministry of Planning (Dawan Africa).

New laws and tools

• Financial Institutions Law, revised May 2025: sets the rules for microfinance.
• Takaful (Islamic insurance) Law, with rules on licensing and capital.
• Credit Information System and Collateral Registry, agreed with the IFC in September 2025, to be run by the Central Bank. They will let lenders see a borrower's record and register what is pledged against a loan.
• National ID for new accounts, checked through the Hubiye eKYC platform.

All four: Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025.

Somalia has joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which lets payments between African countries settle in local currencies. The Central Bank plans to link the instant payment system to PAPSS by the end of 2026 (Dawan Africa, July 2026; Eastleigh Voice). The IMF says stronger anti-money-laundering rules are needed to win correspondent banks, the foreign banks that let Somali banks send and receive international payments (IMF, 5 October 2026).

Somaliland

Somaliland licenses its own banks. Wadaag Bank opened on 31 August 2025 as the sixth licensed bank there and the first digital-first Islamic bank; its wallet links to Zaad and eDahab (Tech Africa).

A short history

The Somali National Bank opened on 4 July 1960. After 1969, banks were nationalised under the military government. All banking stopped when the state collapsed in January 1991 (Central Bank of Somalia, History). For two decades, money transfer companies did the work of banks. The Central Bank was re-established under the Central Bank Act of 2012 (same source). See Economic history.