Fitch Ratings has downgraded the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) amid concerns over its exposure to Ghana’s sovereign debt and subsequently withdrew the bank’s ratings. The global credit rating agency lowered Afreximbank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-’ and its Short-Term IDR to ‘B’ from ‘F3’. The ratings on the bank’s global medium-term note programme and other debt instruments were similarly cut to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-’. A BB+ rating is considered non-investment grade, commonly referred to as “high-yield” or “junk,” signalling higher perceived risk for investors. According to Fitch, Afreximbank’s solvency remains supported by strong capitalisation, a moderate usable capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio of 21 per cent at end-2024, and excellent internal capital generation.