Biti’s big lie

Below is the full write up from Zimfact:

FACT CHECK: Does Zimbabwe get “more than half” Afreximbank loans?

In an October 7, 2020 Tweet, former finance minister Tendai Biti said Afreximbank was “obscenely over exposed” to Zimbabwe.

“More than half it’s (sic) balance sheet has been lent to Zim. This is abnormal and terrible governance,” Biti claimed.

According to the bank’s latest financial statements, Afreximbank’s loans amounted to US$15.2 billion at the end of June 2020.

Of this amount, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe’s region, accounts for US$2,78 billion.

This is just over 18% of Afreximbank’s total loans.

The bank does not break the loan data down to country level.

With US$5,45 billion loans, West Africa gets the biggest portion of Afreximbank loans, 35%, followed by North Africa with US$4,22 billion or 27%.

East Africa and Central Africa account for US$2,17 billion (14%) and US$655 million (4%), respectively.

Most of Afreximbank loans go to the financial sector, whose share stood at 55% at the end of June 2020. Lending to central banks amounted to US$3.34 billion or 22% of total loans.

Afreximbank says the quality of its loans remains within target. Non-performing loans made up 3.47% of the total book at the end of June, below the bank’s target ceiling of 4%.

Banks such as Afreximbank are subjected to ratings by rating agencies, such as Fitch and Moody’s. These companies assess a bank’s loans and give independent evaluations.

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