The Bank has the following powers and duties:

» Coins, prints and issues the legal tender currency, and regulates the country's money supply.

» Regulates the applicable interest rate and other cost of money charges.

» Formulating implements and follows-up the country's exchange rate policy, and manages and administers the international reserves of the country.
» Licenses, supervises and regulates the operations of banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.

» Sets limits on gold and foreign exchange assets, which banks, and other financial institutions authorized to deal in foreign exchange an hold in deposits.

» Sets limits on the net foreign exchange positions and terms, and the amount of external indebtedness of banks and other financial institutions.

» Provides short and long term refinancing facilities to banks and other financial institutions.

» Accepts deposit of any kind from foreign sources.

» Promotes and encourages the dissemination of banking and insurance services throughout the country.

» Prepares periodic economic studies, together with forecasts of the balance of payments, money supply, prices and other relevant statistical indicators of the Ethiopian economy useful for analysis and for the formulation and determination by the Bank of monetary, saving and exchange policies.

» Acts as banker, fiscal agent and financial advisor to the Government.

» Represents the country in international monetary institutions and acts consistently with international monetary and banking agreements to which Ethiopia is a party.

» Exercises and performs such other powers and activities as central banks customarily perform.