By AJERAP Correspondent
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) posted a strong first-half performance in 2026, with net income rising 30 per cent to $534.7 million, as lending expanded and asset quality strengthened.
The bank’s net income increased from $412.7 million in H1 2025, while net interest income rose 22 per cent to $1 billion.
Net loans and advances grew 5.7 per cent to $35.4 billion, from $33.5 billion at the end of 2025, while total assets and contingencies increased 7.8 per cent to $52.3 billion.
The stronger performance was accompanied by an improvement in asset quality, with the non-performing loan ratio declining to 2.20 per cent, from 2.43 per cent at year-end 2025.
Return on average shareholders’ equity rose to 13 per cent, compared with 11 per cent in H1 2025, while return on average assets increased to 2.54 per cent from 2.22 per cent.
Fee and commission income also climbed 15 per cent to $71.1 million, driven by higher earnings from guarantees, letters of credit and advisory services.
Commenting on the results, Afreximbank’s Senior Executive Vice President, Denys Denya, said the performance reflected the resilience of the Group amid a challenging global environment.
“Our financial performance and strong position reflect the continued resilience of the Group at a time when our member countries are navigating a particularly complex global environment,” Denya said.
He said the bank’s healthy balance sheet would enable it to respond to market disruptions while maintaining support for trade, industrialisation and investment.
“Our healthy balance sheet gives us the capacity to respond when markets are disrupted, while continuing to finance the trade, industrialisation and investment that underpin longer-term economic resilience,” he said.
Denya said the growth in lending, stronger asset quality and diversified funding base had strengthened the bank’s ability to address immediate challenges and support longer-term economic transformation.
“The expansion of our lending, the strength of our asset quality and our continued access to diversified funding enable us to remain responsive to immediate challenges while supporting the structural transformation of African and Caribbean economies,” he said.
Afreximbank maintained a sound liquidity position, with liquid assets accounting for 13 per cent of total assets, within its strategic target range of 10 to 15 per cent.
Shareholders’ funds increased to $8.5 billion, supported by $534.7 million in internally generated profits and $13.9 million in new equity raised during the period.
The bank also strengthened its funding capacity with a $1.5 billion dual-tranche bond issuance completed after the reporting period.
The transaction, comprising $750 million in a 5.5-year tranche and $750 million in a 10-year tranche, was the largest international debt capital markets issuance in the bank’s history and was approximately two times oversubscribed.
The strong investor demand provides Afreximbank with additional capacity to finance trade, industrialisation and investment across Africa and the Caribbean.
The H1 performance leaves the bank with stronger earnings, expanding lending capacity and improved asset quality as African economies continue to seek financing for infrastructure, industrial development and intra-African trade.
