S&P Global affirms AfDB’s AAA rating with stable outlook

A ratings agency, S&P Global Ratings, has affirmed its “AAA/A-1+” foreign currency issuer credit rating of the African Development Bank with a stable outlook.

S&P said its outlook reflected the expectation that the AfDB would, over the next two years, “prudently manage its capital while maintaining solid levels of high-quality liquidity assets and a robust funding profile”.

“We also assume extraordinary shareholder support to the bank will remain unchanged,” it added.

In a letter, dated January 29, 2021, S&P Global Ratings noted the bank’s $115 billion capital increase, approved by its shareholders in October 2019.

S&P said, “Our ratings on AfDB reflect its important role in Africa, marked by a long track record of fulfilling its policy mandate through economic cycles, combined with robust shareholder support. In October 2019, the bank’s shareholders approved its seventh general capital increase (GCI-VII), effectively increasing the bank’s capital base by $115 billion … to $208 billion.”

“We expect the capital increase will enable AfDB to continue expanding its reach, particularly in light of the renewed focus on infrastructure financing and private-sector lending. The bank has already been growing steadily over the years. The bank is in a good position to support increasing mobilization efforts and crowd-in additional private-sector funds.”

The President, AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina said the AAA rating by S&P Global Ratings affirmed the bank’s prudent financial and risk management and strong governance systems.

He said, “We have been able to maintain our high standards despite the tremendous challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful for the steadfast and extraordinary support of our shareholders.

“The bank remains committed to providing African countries with needed financing support to recover from the health crisis and to strongly grow back their economies, while managing our risk and capital requirements.”