Afreximbank Faults Fitch’s Negative Outlook, Sovereign Loan Restructuring Claims

Following a recent negative outlook rating by Fitch Ratings, Africa Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) has faulted the premise of the rating, saying it is not participating in debt restructuring negotiations related to any of its member countries.

Fitch had downgraded the bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BBB’ with a negative outlook citing concerns that sovereign debt restructuring by some countries such as Ghana, South Sudan and Zambia  may include Afreximbank exposures, undermining its policy role and increasing strategic risk.

RELATED: Fitch Downgrades Afreximbank To ‘BBB-’; Outlook Negative

However, Afreximbank has refuted the claim that it will be restructuring loans of the three countries which Fitch classified as non-performing and postulated that it will raise the bank’s calculated NPL ratio to 7.1 per cent at the end of 2024, above the six per cent high-risk threshold

Whilst affirming that its “financial resilience, robust governance and unwavering commitment to excellence, and to Africa” are critical to the delivery of its mandate, Afreximbank said it “remains committed to supporting its member countries in navigating their economic challenges while promoting trade-led growth, economic development and general macroeconomic stability.”

It stated that Fitch’s ‘negative outlook’ decision, which it says reflects “the risk that the debt owed to Afreximbank by some of its sovereign borrowers may be restructured”, is hinged on the” erroneous view, in some quarters, that the treaty establishing Afreximbank, executed by its 53 participating African states, can be violated by the Bank without consequences.

“For clarity, the Bank establishment agreement is a treaty entered into by, and among, all participating states and between the participating states and the Bank. Accordingly, Afreximbank would like to reaffirm that it is not participating in debt restructuring negotiations related to any of its member countries.

“To do so would be inconsistent with the Bank establishment treaty. The treatment of its loans and other activities is governed by the treaty and not by classifications created outside its framework” the bank stated.

It also noted that Fitch’s acknowledgement of the Bank’s strong capitalisation including its “strong equity to assets and guarantees ratio” and “excellent internal capital generation as well as low concentration risk “reinforce the overall soundness of the Bank’s risk management framework.

“It is important to note that Fitch acknowledges Afreximbank’s financial resilience, highlighting that “the bank operates with a high level of collateral and credit risk mitigants and has already taken relatively large provisions on some sovereign exposures, which would reduce any potential further negative financial impact for the bank”.

“Afreximbank operates under very high standards of financial transparency. The Bank’s financial reporting strictly adheres to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), including IFRS 9. This standard governs the classification and staging of loan performance, including the treatment of non-performing loans, amongst other matters.

“The Bank’s application of IFRS 9 is comprehensively detailed in its 2024 Financial Statements and further clarified in the external auditors’ report. As cited in the ratings report, dated 4 June 2025, “Fitch’s definition of NPLs differs from the Bank’s approach, which makes use of forward-looking information.