Aligned with its mandate to promote Global Africa following the recognition of the African Diaspora as the 6th region of Africa, the African Export-Import Bank is now spreading its tentacles outside the continent.
For starters it has ventured into the Caribbean.
The Bank is cementing its expansion and presence in the Caribbean with the historic groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the construction of the first ever Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) outside of Africa in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Afreximbank African Trade Centre Barbados will also host the AATC regional office.
The Barbados AATC is described to be an authentic icon of trade embodying the ambition, resilience, and influence of leading commercial cities in Africa and the Caribbean that serve as dynamic focal points for commerce, fostering regional and global trade connections, and is expected to enhance intra-and extra-African trade, with a focus on countries of the Global South.
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.
For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.Â
Financial Highlights
Meanwhile the African Export-Import Bank has released the consolidated financial statements of the Bank and its subsidiaries for the three months ended 31 March 2025.
Afreximbank Group delivered satisfactory financial performance for the first quarter of 2025, meeting expectations with solid profitability, strengthened liquidity and a resilient capital base.
This performance provides a springboard for the Bank to continue playing its pivotal role of advancing the aspirations of Africa and the Caribbean for economic transformation and sustainable development in the months and years ahead.
Net interest income grew by 4.53 percent to USD 411.2 million compared to prior year, driven by growth in interest earning assets, complemented by effective management of borrowing costs, helping the Bank to cushion the marginal decline in total interest income due to softening benchmark rates.
Fee income from Guarantees and Letters of Credit saw robust growth of 47 percent and 36 percent respectively, partially offsetting lower advisory fees to contribute to total unfunded income of USD 26.9 million for the first quarter of 2025.
While this represented a 7.41% decrease from USD 29.0 million in the first quarter of 2024, the strong performance in Off-balance sheet assets is in line with the Bank’s strategy to grow unfunded business.
The Group posted strong Net Income of USD 215 million, a 21 percent increase year-on-year from USD 178 million in the prior period.
The Group’s total assets and contingent liabilities increased by 6.4 percent, reaching USD 42.7 billion as of 31 March 2025, up from USD 40.1 billion at Fiscal Year 2024.
On-balance sheet assets grew by 4.85% to US$37.0 billion, driven primarily by a 58 percent surge in cash balances to USD 7.4 billion, while Off-balance sheet assets, that is letters of credit and guarantee volumes increased by a 19 percent to reach USD 5.7 billion at the end of Quarter One 2025.
Net loans and advances closed Quarter One 2025 at USD 27.8 billion, down from the Fiscal Year 2024 closing position reflecting early repayments from certain customers on account of improved foreign currency balances position of some sovereign borrowers.
Importantly, the Loan Asset Quality remained strong, with the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio at 2.44 percent a modest increase from 2.33 percent at Fiscal Year 2024 – well below the Bank’s strategic NPL ceiling of 4 percent.
Driven by inflationary pressures and growing personnel costs, operating expenses rose by 23 percent to reach USD 75.4 million by 31 March 2025. Despite this, Afreximbank Group maintained a healthy Cost-to-Income Ratio of 16 percent, below its strategic range of 17-30 percent.
Afreximbank’s liquidity profile strengthened considerably, with liquid assets now comprising 20 percent of total assets, up from 13 percent at the close of Fiscal Year 2024. This higher liquidity position was as a result of successful fund-raising, coupled with loan repayments received during the quarter.
Shareholders’ funds increased by 3.4 percent reaching USD 7.5 billion, driven by strong internally generated capital of USD 215.4 million in addition to new equity investments under the second General Capital Increase (GCI II) programme.
Operating Highlights
In line with the Afreximbank strategic objective of driving Industrialisation and export development, the Bank and the Government of Kenya ratified a number of initiatives designed to support the development Industrial Parks (IPs) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Kenya under the USD 3 billion Kenya country programme.
These projects which include Dongo Kundu Industrial Park in Mombasa and Naivasha Special Economic Zone II in Mai Mahiu, are key components of Kenya’s Vision 2030 plan to boost export manufacturing and industrialisation.
Afreximbank’s support for these initiatives will specifically enhance infrastructure development, attract investment, and strategically position Kenya as a key hub for African and global commerce.
The rollout of the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) continues to gain momentum with KCB Group in Kenya and Bank of Kigali in Rwanda launching the platform, becoming the first banks in their respective countries to offer seamless, instant, and affordable cross-border payments in local currencies across Africa.
Mr. Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s Senior Executive Vice President, commented:
“Our First Quarter 2025 results, which were in line with expectations, reflected a strong and resilient financial performance, notwithstanding continued macroeconomic challenges.
With solid profitability growth, a strengthened liquidity position, and a well-capitalised balance sheet, the Group is firmly positioned to continue playing a pivotal role in advancing the aspirations of Africa and the Caribbean for economic transformation and sustainable development.”