Nairobi, June 8 -- Stanbic Bank says it is ready and able to make a start-up operation in Ethiopia as it explores ways of circumventing a rule that caps foreign ownership at 49 percent when a lender enters that market through an acquisition.

This makes Stanbic Bank the first major African bank to consider the possibility of venturing into the Horn of African market without going through the acquisition route, which has been touted by many interested banks as optimal.

Stanbic, a subsidiary of Standard Bank - the continent's largest bank by asset base - says gaining entry into Ethiopia by building from the ground is a card on the table, given its vast experience across 20 African countries, including Kenya.

In March last year, Ethiopia's...