LAGOS, Jan 29 – Fitch Ratings has downgraded African Export-Import Bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to BB+ from BBB-, pushing the Cairo-based trade lender into non-investment-grade territory, before withdrawing coverage of the institution.
The ratings agency also lowered Afreximbank’s short-term issuer rating to B from F3 and cut ratings on its global medium-term note programme to BB+. The outlook was kept at stable.
The downgrade followed Afreximbank’s decision last week to terminate its relationship with Fitch, citing concerns that the agency’s methodology failed to reflect the bank’s legal framework, treaty protections, and development mandate.
Fitch said it subsequently withdrew all ratings for commercial reasons and would no longer provide analytical coverage of the lender.
The downgrade was driven largely by Fitch’s reassessment of Afreximbank’s policy importance and business risk after the bank reached an agreement in principle with Ghana in December on a USD750 million sovereign loan under restructuring.
According to Fitch, the deal indicated that Afreximbank did not receive preferential treatment, undermining assumptions around its status as a preferred creditor.
The agency raised Afreximbank’s policy importance risk to medium from low and revised its business profile risk to high from medium, citing exposure to high-risk operating environments, weak sovereign credit quality, and elevated political risk across member states.
Fitch also flagged heightened governance and strategy risks, pushing the lender’s overall business environment assessment further into negative territory.
Despite the downgrade, Fitch said Afreximbank’s standalone credit profile remains at BB+, supported by strong capitalisation and solid liquidity. The bank’s solvency was assessed at BBB+, while liquidity was rated A, reflecting access to diversified funding sources and more than USD2 billion in available credit lines.
Shareholder support was assessed at BB-, with Fitch pointing to continued capital injections, dividend reinvestment, and callable capital backing from key shareholders including Egypt and Nigeria.
With Fitch no longer providing ratings, investors will need to rely on alternative assessments to evaluate Afreximbank’s credit risk. The episode also highlights growing tensions between African financial institutions and global rating agencies over how development lenders are assessed in the context of sovereign debt restructurings.
