The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has ended its relationship with Fitch Ratings, stating that the agency’s credit assessment no longer reflects the bank’s mandate or its constitutive agreement. Despite this decision, the institution reaffirmed the strength of its operations, backed by its African shareholders and robust legal protections, with assets totaling USD 40.1 billion and solid ratings from other international credit agencies.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced on Friday, January 23, 2025, the end of its relationship with Fitch Ratings, thereby terminating the agency’s credit rating of the institution. The decision follows an internal review which concluded that Fitch’s assessment no longer adequately reflected Afreximbank’s constitutive agreement, mission, and mandate as a pan-African institution.
You know, Fitch recently misjudged Afreximbank’s credit rating, whereas just a few weeks later, Moody’s assigned it a better rating. We believe Fitch’s assessment was unjustified and we perceived that rating negatively.
Misheck Mutize, State Support for Credit Rating Agencies
According to experts, Afreximbank’s decision is driven by strategic and reputational differences, as well as a desire to strengthen the autonomy of African institutions in the face of Western rating standards often viewed as overly conservative. As of end-December 2024, the Bank reported USD 40.1 billion in assets and USD 7.2 billion in equity, while maintaining strong ratings from Moody’s, GCR, JCR, and CCXI.
Afreximbank has had an undeniable impact, and by undervaluing it, we perceived this, from a broader perspective, as an attempt to undermine its strategic role in infrastructure financing.
Misheck Mutize, State Support for Credit Rating Agencies
Despite ending its relationship with Fitch Ratings, Afreximbank reaffirmed the strength of its operations, supported by its African shareholders and the guarantees provided under its constitutive agreement, highlighting the robustness of its governance and operational framework.
