Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has made a significant move by downgrading the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to a non-investment grade, categorizing it as junk status. This decision reflects the ongoing deterioration in the relationship between the bank, located in Cairo, and one of the leading credit rating firms.
Fitch has adjusted Afreximbank’s long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from ‘BBB-’ to ‘BB+’, which now places the institution below the investment-grade threshold. Additionally, the short-term IDR has also been downgraded, and Fitch has announced that it will cease all future credit evaluations and analytical coverage of the bank.
Several factors contributed to this downgrade, with Fitch highlighting the bank’s increasing credit risk exposure and diminishing policy significance, particularly following its involvement in Ghana’s sovereign debt restructuring process. The agency expressed that the restructuring indicates a decline in the bank’s previously established preferred creditor status, which typically protects multilateral lenders from losses associated with sovereign loans.
Fitch’s report classified Afreximbank’s risk profile as high, up from medium, emphasizing concerns related to governance, exposure to sovereign debt challenges, and risk management standards. Earlier in January 2026, Afreximbank responded to the situation by officially terminating its credit rating relationship with Fitch, contending that the agency’s evaluation methods did not appropriately reflect the bank’s objectives or operational framework.
As a result of this downgrade, Moody’s remains the sole significant global ratings agency providing a credit rating for Afreximbank, further complicating the bank’s financial positioning in an increasingly volatile economic landscape.
