Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 09 December 2017: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Attijariwafa bank today in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in developing a large framework of cooperation in trade across Africa.
Under the terms of the MOU signed by Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, and Mohamed El Kettani, Chairman and CEO of Attijariwafa bank Group, on the sidelines of the Africa 2017 Forum holding in Sharm el Sheikh, the two institutions committed to collaborating in equity and treasury cooperation through the participation of Attijariwafa bank in Afreximbank’s equity base as well as the use of excess liquidity for placements under Afreximbank’s deposit schemes aimed at financing trade across Africa.
They will also cooperate in facilitating the identification, preparation and co-financing of projects related to their respective areas of activities and in the co-financing trade through the provision of line of credit confirmations.
In addition, the MoU provides for Attijariwafa bank to be able to act as a local administrative agent for Afreximbank through its network in 15 African countries. The two parties also agreed to collaborate in building capacity and sharing information and staff.
“This MoU opens up the potential for our two institutions, working together, to make significant contributions toward unlocking the full potentials for delivering the much-needed developmental impact on our continent,” said Dr. Oramah, in a speech at the signing ceremony.
“The MoU sets up a long-term strategic partnership between Afreximbank and Attijariwafa bank as an integral part of our Intra-African Trade Initiative and will enable us to cooperate in providing innovative trade finance solutions,” he continued.” As the largest bank in Morocco and a leading pan-African bank, we see an important role for Attijariwafa bank as Afreximbank seeks to expand its operations in the Moroccan market, in particular, in the area of identifying opportunities for structured trade finance transactions.”
Also speaking, Mr. El Kettani said, “Signing this MOU with Afreximbank is another important milestone in our long-lasting relationship. Indeed, over the past years, our affiliate, Attijariwafa bank Egypt (formerly Barclays bank Egypt), has developed a strong and diversified partnership with Afreximbank. Therefore, the present MoU enlarges the spectrum of covered geographies and strengthens intra-African cooperation and specifically one of its key levers which is trade. As we all know, Afreximbank plays a leading role in boosting trade across Africa and Attijariwafa bank is also deeply involved in financing intra-African trade flows through its affiliates in North, West and Central Africa. My conviction is strong that this MoU will contribute to bringing up new fruitful opportunities for our respective customers”.
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Afreximbank: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)
Attijariwafa bank group: Ouafaa Ghaouat; Tel. +212 47 47 32 90
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About Afreximbank: The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016. Afreximbank had total assets of $11.7 billion as at 31 December 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
About Attijariwafa Bank: Attijariwafa Bank is the first banking and financial group in the Maghreb and WAEMU and a key player in CEAMC. In addition to banking activities, the Group operates through specialized subsidiaries in the financial industry : insurance, housing credit, consumer credit, leasing, asset management, stock brokerage, private banking, counseling, long-term leasing, factoring, etc. Attijariwafa Bank is based in Morocco and operates in 25 countries through majority-controlled subsidiaries:
- In Africa: Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Togo, Benin and Niger.
- In Europe: France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
It is also present through financial companies or representative offices in London, Geneva, Montreal, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Tripoli and Riyadh.