African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) delivered a strong first-half performance for 2026, with net income climbing 30% and total assets crossing $52 billion, as the Cairo-based trade finance institution expanded lending across Africa and the Caribbean while maintaining what it described as prudent risk management through a volatile global environment.
The Group’s total assets and contingencies rose 7.8% to $52.3 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, up from $48.5 billion at the end of 2025.
That growth was driven primarily by expanding lending activity, with net loans and advances increasing 5.7% to $35.4 billion, compared with $33.5 billion at year-end 2025.
Asset quality held steady even as the loan book grew. The non-performing loan ratio fell to 2.20% at the end of the first half, down from 2.43% at year-end 2025 an improvement that stands out given the scale of Afreximbank’s lending expansion over the same period.
Liquid assets accounted for 13% of total assets, comfortably within the Bank’s strategic target range of 10% to 15%.
Shareholders’ funds rose to $8.5 billion from $8.4 billion at the end of 2025, supported by $534.7 million in internally generated profits and $13.9 million in new equity raised during the period.
The earnings growth was broad-based. Net interest income rose 22% to $1.0 billion, compared with $0.84 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Fee and commission income increased 15% to $71.1 million, up from $61.9 million in the first half of 2025, driven by higher fees earned from guarantees, letters of credit and advisory services.
Combined, those gains pushed net income to $534.7 million, a 30% increase from $412.7 million in the first half of 2025.
Profitability metrics improved in step with earnings. Return on average shareholders’ equity rose to 13%, up from 11% in the first half of 2025, while return on average assets increased to 2.54% from 2.22% over the same period.
The cost-to-income ratio held at a healthy 20%, up only marginally from 19% a year earlier despite higher personnel expenses and persistent inflationary pressures, a sign of operational discipline even as costs rose across the institution.
Gross income reached $1.8 billion for the half, up from $1.6 billion in the first half of 2025. Total liabilities stood at $34.8 billion, against $33.9 billion at the end of 2025, while the Bank’s capital adequacy ratio under Basel II eased slightly to 22% from 23%.
Beyond the reporting period, Afreximbank strengthened its funding base further by completing a $1.5 billion dual-tranche bond issuance, the largest international debt capital markets transaction in the Bank’s history.
The offering comprised a $750 million tranche with a 5.5-year maturity and a $750 million tranche with a 10-year maturity.
Investor demand ran roughly twice the amount on offer, a level of oversubscription that signals strong confidence in the Bank’s credit profile at a moment when many emerging-market and development finance institutions face tighter access to international capital markets.
Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s Senior Executive Vice President, framed the results as evidence of institutional resilience amid global uncertainty.
“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. “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. 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.”
The results arrive as African trade finance institutions face growing scrutiny over their capacity to fund industrialisation and trade at scale without relying solely on traditional development-finance channels.
Afreximbank’s record bond issuance, oversubscribed by a factor of two, suggests international capital markets remain willing to back African-led development finance institutions with strong balance sheets.
