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Vol 66 No 13

Published 27th June 2025


Rulebook under pressure as Afreximbank slips a notch

Fitch’s downgrade raises questions about risk perception and preferred creditor status – and has reignited calls for an African-owned rating agency

Fitch Ratings downgraded the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) one notch to BBB- on 4 June, leaving the Cairo-based lender just above non-investment grade. The principal reason was a rise in the proportion of loans with delayed repayments to 7.1% of total lending – above Fitch’s 6% threshold. The increase reflects Fitch’s assessment that Afreximbank’s sovereign loans to Ghana, South Sudan and Zambia may be included in debt restructurings. Afreximbank, however, excludes these three exposures from its own calculations, reporting a non-performing loan ratio of just 2.3% at the end of 2024.

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