With $50 million Line, BFA Becomes First Angolan Bank to Sign on to Afreximbank’s Trade Facilitation Programme

Cairo, 17 Sept. 2019: – Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA) has signed on to the Afreximbank Trade Facilitation programme (AFTRAF) for an initial $50-million line of credit, becoming the first Angolan bank to sign on to the programme offered by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) with the aim of supporting African banks to bridge the gap created by the withdrawal of international correspondent banks from the continent.

BFA will use the AFTRAF line of credit to confirm letters of credit and to issue guarantees, avalisation and other trade enabling products, said Afreximbank in an announcement in Cairo today. The line could also be increased based on demand from the Angola market.

According to the announcement, the AFTRAF programme provides access to a global network of confirming banks and complements the capacity of African banks to provide trade financing solutions by providing risk mitigation in new or challenging markets where trade lines may be constrained.

The AFTRAF programme is expected to help African importers and exporters to increase their trade volumes with African counterparties and internationally and to enhance confidence in the settlement of international trade transactions for critical imports into Africa while ensuring access to trade finance at reasonable cost.

So far, 100 Banks from 26 Afreximbank member countries have signed on to the AFTRAF

The signing of the AFRAF facility by BFA is part of ongoing cooperation between Afreximbank and BFA as both are actively engaged in other areas in support of the Angolan economy.

—–

Media Contact: Obi Emekekwue (oemekekwue@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4238)

—–

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 $67 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including $7.2 billion in 2018. Afreximbank had total assets of $13.4 billion as at 31 December 2018. It is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com