The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has reported a 25 percent jump in net income for the first quarter of 2026, posting earnings of $268.9 million against $215.4 million in the same period last year, while simultaneously launching a $10 billion facility to cushion African economies from the ongoing Gulf crisis.
The results, covering the three months ended March 31, 2026, show gross income rising to $874.1 million from $784.9 million a year earlier, and net interest income growing 24 percent to $510 million. The bank’s total credit exposure expanded by 2 percent to $42 billion, while average loans and advances climbed 8 percent year-on-year to $32 billion.
Afreximbank maintained a capital adequacy ratio of 23 percent, well above regulatory requirements, with cash and cash equivalents of $5.6 billion representing 14 percent of total assets. Return on average equity improved to 13 percent from 12 percent in the first quarter of 2025. The cost-to-income ratio held at 19 percent, well inside the bank’s strategic ceiling of 30 percent.
Asset quality remained stable, with the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at 2.40 percent, slightly below the 2.43 percent recorded at the close of 2025 and below industry averages. Shareholders’ funds grew to $8.6 billion, up from $8.4 billion at year-end 2025.
“Against a backdrop of continued global uncertainty, heightened geopolitical risks and tight financial conditions, the Group delivered a resilient first-quarter performance,” said Senior Executive Vice President Denys Denya.
Beyond the financial results, the quarter brought a significant structural milestone. South Africa’s ratification of Afreximbank’s Establishment Agreement in February 2026 gave the bank full continental coverage for the first time, bringing one of Africa’s largest economies formally into its membership. The bank also continued to support the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and its $10 billion African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Adjustment Fund.
The Gulf Crisis Response Programme, launched in March 2026, targets liquidity support, trade stabilisation, and supply chain disruptions in energy, food, fertilisers, tourism, and aviation. The bank described the facility as an expression of its counter-cyclical mandate to intervene during periods of external shock.
