The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has lauded global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) for upgrading its issuer rating from Baa2 to Baa1, with a stable outlook.
In statement by the bank on Friday in Lagos, Afreximbank said the upgrade released by Moody’s in New York on Jan. 23 showed Moody’s assessment of the bank’s capital adequacy and liquidity position.
The statement quoted Afreximbank President, Dr Benedict Oramah, as saying that the upgrade was the credit enhancement provided by the highly rated private international credit insurers.
“Afreximbank is very pleased with this development, which rewards our hard work, patience and innovation in capital management.
“The bank’s credit standing has been greatly strengthened by the higher quality callable capital.
“We are particularly happy at the opportunity to have set the pace in developing and implementing innovative approaches to capital management which other multilaterals with large pools of sub-investment grade shareholders could use to enhance their capabilities for mandate delivery,” Oramah said.
According to Moody’s statement, Afreximbank’s asset quality performance remained strong in regional comparison.
It noted that the upgrade was occasioned by the ratio of non-performing loans (NPL), which declined to 2.01 per cent in June 2016 from 2.8 per cent at the end of 2015.
“Afreximbank also welcome three new countries, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo and Djibouti, as participating states, while Uganda and Djibouti ratified the Agreement on the Establishment of the bank.
“The Chadian authorities also finalized the process for the formal ratification of the Agreement by the government,” it said.
Afreximbank is the foremost Pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade.
The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors and non-African investors.
Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.
Since 1994, it has approved more than $41 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $6.2 billion in 2015.
Afreximbank had total assets of $9.4 billion as at April 30, 2016 and is rated BBB by Fitch. The Bank is headquartered in Cairo.
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