Afreximbank secures investment grade rating, boosting lending firepower

Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank. [Courtesy]

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has secured a long-sought investment grade rating from S&P Global Ratings, a move that will lower its borrowing costs and expand its capacity to lend to African and Caribbean economies reeling from recent supply chain shocks.

S&P assigned the Cairo-based pan-African lender a ‘BBB+’ long-term and ‘A-2’ short-term issuer credit rating, both with a Stable Outlook, the bank announced on Monday.

The ‘BBB+’ rating – one notch above speculative grade – means Afreximbank is now considered low-risk by international investors. Investment grade status typically allows institutions to raise capital more cheaply in global bond markets, attract a wider pool of conservative funds such as pension and insurance portfolios, and issue larger loans at competitive rates.

For Afreximbank, which has seen total assets swell to $48.5 billion by December 2025 from $7.1 billion a decade earlier, the upgrade is expected to unlock cheaper funding for its growing lending programmes.

The rating comes as Afreximbank scales up a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme (GCRP) to shield African and Caribbean nations like Kenya whose trade and supply chains were disrupted by the recently resolved Iran conflict. The bank has also been a key countercyclical lender during past shocks including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

“This rating is a strong endorsement of Afreximbank’s financial strength, stability and international credibility,” said Dr. George Elombi, the bank’s president and chairman. “The events of recent years underscore a central lesson: the pursuit of Africa’s economic change will not be handed to us.”

The upgrade arrives as Afreximbank prepares to hold its annual general meeting virtually later this month, where it will review its finances and unveil a new strategic roadmap. Shareholders are expected to assess the bank’s capital position, which S&P noted has been strengthened by consecutive capital injections from member states.

S&P said Afreximbank’s growing policy relevance and robust risk management justified the Stable Outlook, signalling little chance of a downgrade in the near term. The bank already holds investment grade ratings from Moody’s (Baa2) and Japan Credit Rating Agency (A-), among others.

Analysts say the S&P upgrade could pave the way for larger syndicated loans and lower interest rates for borrowing nations, particularly as Afreximbank deepens its role financing intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.