Investors


Capital Markets Overview

The Bank actively borrows in the capital markets to ensure that it has sufficient liquidity to meet its cash flow requirements for a one-year rolling period, and to provide cost-effective resources to fund its clients and projects. The Bank uses a variety of instruments and markets to source funds, and uses the derivatives market for asset- and liability-management purposes. Responsiveness and flexibility are the hallmarks of the Bank’s activities in the capital markets. Its strategy for achieving its funding goals is based on the following fundamentals:

  • Establish a track record of issuing regular, liquid benchmark transactions in the capital markets to attract competitive funding levels and generate additional funding opportunities.
  • Develop diversified access to public and private markets in various currencies and build name recognition.
  • Access medium to long-term funding, subject to market conditions.
  • Deepen and broaden its investor base through a proactive investor relations strategy.
  • Promote the development of African capital markets and provide local currency funding to its clients by issuing bonds denominated in local currencies.

As Africa’s premier development finance institution, the Bank enjoys widespread name recognition in major international and domestic capital markets. Transactions include issuance in the US dollar and Euro global benchmark markets as well as the domestic markets of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Nigeria, Switzerland, South Africa and Uganda. The Bank is also active in African currency-linked transactions and private placement transactions in emerging market currencies such as the Brazilian real, Indonesian rupiah, Mexican peso, Russian rouble, Indian rupee, and Hong Kong dollar.

As part of its commitment to supporting climate-smart and low-carbon investment on the continent, the Bank established a green bond framework in 2013. The Bank also launched a social bond program in 2017, focused on meeting the critical development challenges that are at the heart of its social mandate. The Bank’s Global Debt Issuance Facility provides the platform for documentation across markets and currencies.

As at 31 December 2022, the Bank’s outstanding borrowing portfolio across 23 currencies was UA 25 billion (USD 33.2 billion).

Ratings

The Bank enjoys the highest possible credit rating, triple-A, assigned by the international credit rating agencies Fitch, Moody’s, S&P and Japan Credit Rating Agency; and by the environmental, social and governance rating agencies.

African Development Bank bonds are 0% risk-weighted under Basel II and level 1 assets under Basel III. The Bank’s bonds are eligible for repo transactions with the central banks of Australia, New Zealand, EU, UK, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana and the US.

2023 Borrowing Program

The Board of Directors has authorized the Bank’s 2023 borrowing program for an amount of UA 5.559 million (USD 7.4 billion).