Global ratings agency Fitch has pointed directly to Ghana’s debt restructuring as a key factor behind its decision to downgrade Afreximbank to junk status, arguing that the process exposed the lender to higher-than-expected credit risks.
Fitch cut Afreximbank’s rating to BB+ from BBB- and withdrew future ratings, ending what it described as a strained relationship with the African trade finance institution.
According to Fitch, central to the downgrade was the treatment of Afreximbank’s $750 million exposure to Ghana during the country’s debt restructuring.
Fitch says the bank’s inclusion in Ghana’s restructuring underlines its weakening policy importance. It further added that the apparent loss taken on the Ghana loan raised Afreximbank’s risk profile to “high risk” from “medium.”
It will be recalled that Ghana announced a resolution of the Afreximbank loan on December 25, with Reuters reporting that the Paris Club of official creditors accepted the deal.
That acceptance, according to Fitch, signalled that Afreximbank had absorbed losses, challenging the long-held assumption that loans to member states carried lower risk.
The ratings agency also cited broader concerns, including elevated credit risk, weak risk-management policies, and uncertainty over how the bank handles stress situations involving sovereign borrowers.
Afreximbank pushed back strongly. In a statement issued on Friday, the bank said it was cutting ties with Fitch, arguing that the agency’s rating approach no longer reflects an understanding of its development-focused mandate and role in supporting African economies.
Still, Fitch’s assessment underscores how Ghana’s debt restructuring continues to ripple beyond the country itself, affecting institutions linked to the process.
