Afreximbank records strong growth in Q1 as global economy improves

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade, on Thursday, in Cairo, announced its unaudited financial statements for the three months ended 31 March 2021, showing strong and resilient growth, ahead of prior year results and in line with expectations.

The Bank reported a net income of $87.3 million, a 4 percent increase over the 2020 performance of $84.2 million, achieved largely due to a 23 percent growth in net interest income. The increase in net interest income arose from a 41 percent growth in net loans and advances and a 11 percent decline in interest expense.

Total assets grew year-on-year by 30 percent to $19.25 billion as at 31 March 2021, primarily due to the implementation of the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA), with most of the facilities having been disbursed in the second half of 2020. Total assets decreased marginally from the balance of $19.31 billion as at 31 December 2020 primarily driven by slight decreases in Loans and Advances and Cash and cash equivalents.

The Bank’s shareholders’ funds increased by 2.64 percent to $3.46 billion from the position of $3.37 billion recorded in December 2020, reflecting the support from existing investors and strong internal capital generation capacity.

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Commenting, Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said “In the context of a global economy which has improved since the last quarter of 2020 with the successful roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, we are pleased to have reported year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2021 and closed the period in a healthy financial position with strong capital levels.

Afreximbank has made significant progress in the implementation of its strategic initiatives and remains committed to promoting intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), on the basis of which trading commenced on 1 January 2021.

Regarding the Bank’s interventions in tackling the pandemic, we are proactively and aggressively supporting the fight against COVID-19 in Africa to accelerate the return to normalcy. We are supporting vaccine procurement by African economies with a $2 billion guarantee and financing facility. Through PATIMFA, Afreximbank disbursed over $6.5 billion in support of African sovereigns, central and commercial banks, as well as corporations and SMEs.

Overall, we are confident that the Bank’s solid financial position, alongside the robust strategic measures put in place to proactively manage the effects of the pandemic, provide a strong foundation for a resilient and growing business going forward and are confident that Africa will see a strong economic rebound in 2021.”