Afreximbank, Attijariwafa Bank sign MoU to support African trade

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and Attijariwafa Bank Sunday 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.

The two institutions committed to collaborate 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.

This was part of 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 banks 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 Oramah 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, 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.”