The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said on Saturday its net profit rose 30% in the first half of 2026 to $535 million, as sustained growth in trade financing across Africa and the Caribbean lifted income at the pan-African lender.
Gross income for the six months to June 30 climbed 13% to $1.8 billion, from $1.6 billion a year earlier, the bank said in its interim financial statements. The performance builds on a strong first quarter, when profit rose 25% year-on-year to $268.9 million on the back of expanding loan volumes and higher interest income, even as global benchmark interest rates eased.
Afreximbank’s loan book has continued to grow through the year. Total credit exposure stood at $42 billion at the end of the first quarter, up from $41 billion at the close of 2025, while average loans and advances rose 8% year-on-year to $32 billion. The bank has kept its cost-to-income ratio well within its self-imposed 30% ceiling, which management has cited as evidence of disciplined expense control alongside the expansion in lending.
The bank’s board approved a total dividend of $397 million for the period, of which $347 million will be paid directly to shareholders, with the remaining $50 million allocated to Afreximbank’s Concessionary Financing Window, which supports lending on preferential terms to lower-income member states.
Afreximbank has also expanded its institutional reach this year. South Africa’s ratification of the bank’s Establishment Agreement in February gave it full continental coverage for the first time, while the bank launched a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme in March to help member countries manage disruptions to trade, energy and payment systems stemming from regional tensions in the Gulf.
Management said the results reflected the bank’s counter-cyclical role as a development finance institution, supporting trade flows and liquidity for member states amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and tighter global financing conditions.
