TheCable

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has disbursed $200 million to Zenith Bank through its pandemic trade impact mitigation facility (PATIMFA).

Afreximbank said the intervention will assist Zenith Bank to continue maintaining foreign currency trade flows impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on Friday, the export-import bank said the facility will aid Zenith Bank in on-lending to eligible sub-borrowers involved in the manufacture and supply of medical resources needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ebenezer Onyeagwu, group managing director and chief executive of Zenith Bank, said: “The Afreximbank facility undoubtedly underscores the confidence reposed in Zenith Bank, and it will enable the bank to contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by providing trade finance and foreign currency funding for the importation of urgent medical equipment and raw materials.”

Speaking on the facility, Benedict Oramah, president of Afreximbank, said: “The PATIMFA is designed to support and stabilize the foreign exchange resources of African countries, enabling them to support critical imports under emergency conditions.

“We are pleased to contribute to keeping economies going especially during this pandemic. The role that banks such as Zenith Bank play in Africa is huge.

“Supporting them to carry out their mandate is our greatest contribution to making sure that African countries and institutions build back better from the shocks of the pandemic.”

PATIMFA was set up in March 2020 “to assist Afreximbank member countries to adjust in an orderly manner to the financial, economic and health services shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Afreximbank says it has already disbursed more than $3.5 billion under PATIMFA.