Elevated lending rates lift Afreximbank’s annual profit 29% higher

Profits at Afreximbank, the multilateral lender focused on financing intra-African trade and development, climbed 28.8% in 2024, quickened by a series of interest rate hikes in response to high inflation across Africa.

In its earnings report on Monday, the Cairo-headquartered lender acknowledged the impact of its subsidiaries, which it said are “beginning to make meaningful contributions to the Group’s financial results.”

Afreximbank, which has tentacles in insurance, equity investment and payments, reported a 26.9 per cent jump in turnover to $3.3 billion.

Interest income, the lifeblood of the group’s topline, climbed to $3.1 billion, adding 23.2 per cent year on year.

Net interest income, a key performance indicator measuring how much banks earn from loans to customers compared to what they pay to savers, was up by a quarter.

“The group delivered robust financial performance, exceeding expectations and outperforming prior years,” Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s senior executive vice president, said in a statement.

“The bank’s strong financial position is underpinned by solid liquidity, a well-capitalized balance sheet, and a high quality asset portfolio.”

Afreximbank, last Thursday, commissioned its first African trade centre in Nigeria’s administrative capital Abuja after 41 months in the works.

The grand two-towered facility is conceived to pivot trade flow, integration and investment, with similar hubs to be replicated across the continent.

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Afreximbank has revealed the ambition to scale intra-African trade to 60 per cent from current 15 per cent as a key strategy to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

Expected credit loss for the group totalled $29.1 billion in the period under review, compared to $26.8 billion a year ago.
Total assets stood at $35.3 billion, up by 5.4 per cent.