The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has begun 2026 with a significant shift in its engagement with global credit rating agencies, ending its relationship with Fitch Ratings while securing a reaffirmed A-grade credit rating from GCR Ratings.
The developments have drawn attention across financial markets and the development finance sector, raising broader questions about how treaty-based multilateral institutions operating in emerging markets are evaluated by global rating agencies.
At the start of the year, Afreximbank announced it had formally terminated its credit rating relationship with Fitch after reviewing the partnership. The Cairo-based lender argued that the rating process did not sufficiently reflect the bank’s Establishment Agreement, its legal protections or its development mandate.
Central to the disagreement is the bank’s preferred creditor status, a legal protection embedded in its founding treaty and ratified by member states. Afreximbank maintains that this status ensures its loans receive priority repayment even during sovereign debt restructuring, a safeguard it believes should distinguish it from commercial lenders exposed to sovereign credit risk.
Despite the break with Fitch, the institution continues to receive favourable assessments from other agencies. In its latest rating action, GCR affirmed Afreximbank’s international scale long- and short-term issuer ratings of A and A2 and revised the outlook to stable from “rating watch evolving”.
GCR also maintained an A-rated programme rating for the bank’s five-billion-dollar Global Medium Term Note programme, a key funding instrument through which Afreximbank raises capital from international markets.
According to GCR, the rating reflects the bank’s counter-cyclical mandate, strong capitalisation and diversified funding base. The agency noted that these factors provide significant buffers against emerging credit risks, particularly in an environment where many African economies are grappling with high debt levels and currency pressures.
The report also pointed to Afreximbank’s diverse shareholder base and continued recognition of its preferred creditor status by member states. A notable milestone highlighted was the accession of South Africa as a full sovereign member after signing the instrument of accession to the bank’s Establishment Treaty.
Beyond credit ratings, Afreximbank has also moved to strengthen its institutional credibility through governance and risk management reforms. In November 2025, the bank secured certification under the ISO 31000:2018 international risk management standard, issued by Certification Partner Global.
The accreditation followed independent audits of the bank’s enterprise risk management framework that reported zero non-conformities. According to the bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Elias Kagumya, the certification reflects years of institutional investment in building a comprehensive risk culture across the organisation.
The ISO standard is widely regarded as a global benchmark for enterprise risk governance, covering risk identification, monitoring and integration across strategy, operations and financial management.
Achieving the certification places Afreximbank among a relatively small group of development finance institutions whose risk management systems meet internationally recognised standards.
The developments come at a time when Afreximbank is expanding its role in continental economic integration initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area. The bank is also supporting financial infrastructure including the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, which is designed to facilitate cross-border payments across African markets.
For investors, the simultaneous termination of one rating relationship and affirmation from another highlights a broader debate about whether traditional credit rating frameworks adequately capture the legal structure and operational mandate of treaty-based African development banks.
With a balance sheet estimated at about 45 billion dollars and an expanding role in financing African trade, the outcome of that debate could influence how global capital markets assess risk across Africa’s growing network of multilateral financial institutions.