• 09 Jun, 2025
• Faith Kegh
• comments off

APRM Disputes Fitch’s Downgrade of Afreximbank, Citing Flawed Loan Classification.

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has criticized Fitch Ratings’ recent downgrade of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), stating that the

decision was based on a flawed assessment of the bank’s loan portfolio.

On June 4, 2025, Fitch lowered Afreximbank’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating from ‘BBB’ to ‘BBB-’ with a negative outlook. The downgrade was based on Fitch’s calculation that 7.1% of the bank’s loans were non-performing, primarily due to exposures to the governments of Ghana (2.4%), South Sudan (2.1%), and Zambia (0.2%).

However, Afreximbank’s own disclosures report a significantly lower non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2.44%. The APRM argues that Fitch wrongly categorized these sovereign loans as NPLs, despite the absence of any formal defaults or repudiations.

The APRM emphasized that loans to member countries like Ghana and Zambia—both founding members and shareholders of Afreximbank—are governed by a binding multilateral treaty established in 1993. This treaty provides the bank with legal protections and outlines specific responsibilities of member states, including respect for its financial operations and preferred creditor status.

Classifying such sovereign exposures as non-performing, the APRM stated, misrepresents the nature of intra-African lending and fails to recognize the unique governance framework of African multilateral institutions. It added that Fitch misunderstood invitations by the three governments for repayment discussions as signals of default risk or intent to revoke creditor protections.

The APRM has urged Fitch to review its criteria and engage in dialogue with Afreximbank and other African stakeholders to ensure fair and accurate credit assessments. It reiterated its commitment to promoting transparency, accuracy, and fairness in how international credit agencies evaluate African financial institutions.

Faith Kegh

Content & Editorial Manager – Leads the creation, review, and publication of high-quality news and media content. She ensures that all editorial work reflects the organization’s standards of accuracy, professionalism, and relevance, while also engaging and informing the audience.

As the key driver of TokinPoint Media LTD’s editorial voice, the manager oversees content planning, assigns tasks to writers or editors, enforces deadlines, and ensures consistency across all platforms. She also plays a strategic role in aligning content with audience interests and search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.

tokinpoint.com