Bangkok--17 Sep--Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'AAA' foreign currency long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the African Development Bank (AFDB). The outlook is stable. Standard & Poor's also affirmed its 'A-1+' foreign currency short-term issuer credit rating on AFDB, as well as all other existing ratings on the bank's obligations. "The ratings on AFDB are supported by its strong and improving capital position and liquidity, its prudent financial management and policies, and the support from its members, particularly its nonregional members, which include numerous 'AAA' rated countries," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Farouk Soussa. Issues of concern for AFDB's creditworthiness include relatively large NPLs; and the inability of most regional member countries (RMCs) to borrow from the bank, which could make continuing shareholder support from some RMCs dependent upon the continued availability of financing from the bank's soft-loan window. A further challenge facing the AFDB is the continued decline in sovereign lending, which the Bank hopes to compensate for with more aggressive private sector lending. AFDB, a regional multilateral development finance institution (MDFI), was established in 1964 by 29 African countries. Non-African countries were admitted in 1982, and the bank's membership now includes all 53 African countries and 24 non-African countries. The bank is the keystone of the AFDB Group, which includes soft-loan windows African Development Fund and Nigeria Trust Fund. These two funds accounted for nearly one-half of Group disbursements over the past five years. AFDB has steadily strengthened its capital position in recent years. AFDB's ratio of reserves for losses, adjusted shareholders' equity, and 'AAA' callable capital (its broad risk-bearing capacity) to development-related exposure was nearly 186% at year-end 2006, the highest such ratio among rated MDFIs. In addition, ongoing capital contributions are slated to further increase shareholders' equity through year-end 2008. The outlook for the ratings on AFDB is stable. The bank's capital position and liquidity are now extremely strong and its franchise value high and increasing, given the attention Africa and its problems are now receiving from the international community. It has substantial scope for increasing its lending and other risk-generating activities while maintaining its current ratings. Ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. It can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com ; select your preferred country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Credit Ratings Search. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's numbers: Client Support Europe (44) 20-7176-7176; London Press Office Hotline (44) 20-7176-3605; Paris (33) 1-4420-6708; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm (46) 8-440-5914; or Moscow (7) 495-783-4017. Members of the media may also contact the European Press Office via e-mail on: [email protected]. Media Contact: David Wargin, New York (212) 438-1579 [email protected] Analyst Contacts: Farouk Soussa, PhD., London (44) 20-7176-7104 Larry Hays, Ph.D., New York (1) 212-438-7347