Access Bank Plc possesses adequate foreign currency liquidity to comfortably service its looming $1bn external debt obligations maturing later this year.
Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings disclosed this in its latest institutional credit assessment, where it also affirmed the bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating at ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook.
The financial institution faces two significant hard-currency repayments in the third quarter of 2026, comprising a $500m Additional Tier 1 Eurobond callable in October and an additional $500m senior unsecured Eurobond maturing in September.
According to the rating agency, despite the macroeconomic headwinds and tight domestic liquidity parameters, Access Bank’s liquidity runway remains resilient enough to absorb these maturing obligations without triggering capital flight stresses.
Analysing the bank’s external balance sheet capacity, a senior credit analyst at Fitch pointed out that the bank’s diversified cross-border operations have provided the necessary buffers to absorb sovereign shocks.
“Fitch believes that the bank’s foreign currency liquidity is sufficient to meet the upcoming repayments,” the analyst said.
The analyst further explained that the financial institution’s recent aggressive international expansions have repositioned its operational baseline.
“The acquisition and consolidation of Mauritius-based AfrAsia Bank Limited in 2025 have improved our assessment of Access Bank’s operating environment, adding a large amount of investment-grade assets to its balance sheet,” he added.
However, the global agency noted that while foreign currency liquidity remains intact, Access Bank’s standalone Capital Adequacy Ratio settled at 17.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, leaving a relatively tight buffer over the 15 per cent regulatory minimum requirement.
Reflecting on the bank’s internal capitalisation strategies, an investment banking strategist observed that redeeming the $500m debt instruments could exert temporary pressure on core capital ratios due to historical foreign exchange adjustments.
“A redemption will reduce core capital because these notes are currently accounted for at a pre-devaluation exchange rate,” the strategist stated.
He maintained that the Tier 1 lender is already implementing remedial balance sheet measures to shore up its capital cushion against statutory benchmarks.
“Access Bank has already raised tier-two capital and actively plans to further strengthen its standalone CAR through internal capital generation and the planned sale of minority stakes in some foreign subsidiaries,” he said.
Meanwhile, the agency reported that the bank’s asset quality remained stable, with its impaired loans ratio holding firm at three per cent at the end of 2025, supported by a moderate oil and gas sector credit concentration of nine per cent of gross loans, which remains significantly lower than its domestic peer average.
