Last week, pan-African multilateral financial institution African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) terminated its credit rating relationship with Fitch Ratings saying the global ratings agency does not understand its structure.
- •In June 2025, Fitch Ratings downgraded Afreximbank, lowering its long-term foreign currency issuer default rating from ‘BBB’ to ‘BBB-’ with a negative outlook, citing a perceived increase in credit risk and weak risk management policies.
- •Afreximbank disputed the rating, saying that Fitch Ratings did not understand the treaty establishing the institution is "governed by a framework of intergovernmental cooperation and mutual commitment, rather than typical commercial risk principles."
- •Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody's (Baa2), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), and Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-).
"This decision follows a review of the relationship, and its firm belief that the credit rating exercise no longer reflects a good understanding of the Bank’s Establishment Agreement, its mission and its mandate," Afreximbank said in a statement dated January 23rd.
The dispute is likely to fuel plans and support for the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), whose supporters say will correct structural inequities in the global financial system that unfairly penalise African economies. Negative ratings raise the cost of borrowing, as downgraded economies and institutions find it harder to access financing from international markets.
Afreximbank, headquartered in Cairo, has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure.
