Gabão, All Africa, Inglês

AFG Bank Gabon, a subsidiary of Atlantic Financial Group, posted a net profit of 31.25 billion XOF for the year ended December 31, 2025, up 30% from 24.01 billion XOF a year earlier, according to financial statements presented at the bank’s annual general meeting on May 26, 2026. Return on equity stood at 29.28% and consolidated net equity reached 88.89 billion XOF.

Total assets rose 37% to 1,419 billion XOF from 1,039 billion XOF, driven by a 32% surge in customer deposits to 684 billion XOF. The large corporate segment led deposit growth at 43%, while retail deposits rose 14%. Gross loans to customers grew 29% to 659 billion XOF, with corporate lending — largely directed at real economy and government infrastructure projects — up 39%. Retail lending grew at a more measured 10%. The loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 96.32%.

Net banking income soared 35.19% to nearly 92 billion XOF, powered by a 40% rise in net interest margin to 50.5 billion XOF and a 33.2% increase in net commissions to 40.13 billion XOF. Digital channels contributed to fee income growth, with mobile banking and bancassurance commissions rising 12.46%. Off-balance-sheet customer commitments grew 18% to 297 billion XOF, driven by a recovery in foreign trade activity.

Operating discipline was a feature of the year. Despite a 13.7% rise in general expenses to 39.1 billion XOF — reflecting investment in IT modernisation — personnel costs fell 1.31% to 15.3 billion XOF. The cost-to-income ratio improved to 42.53% from 50.57% in 2024, lifting gross operating income 57.17% to 52.83 billion XOF.

The cost of risk rose 61.41% to 15.43 billion XOF, and a one-off tax adjustment charge of 1.65 billion XOF weighed on the result, but neither prevented the bank from posting a record profit. The results position AFG Bank Gabon as a challenger to established CEMAC banking sector players, including BGFIBank.

Key Takeaways

AFG Bank Gabon’s 2025 results arrive at a moment of economic transition for Gabon. The country has been under military rule since the August 2023 coup that ousted President Ali Bongo after 55 years of family rule, and the transitional government led by General Brice Oligui Nguema has moved to stabilise the economy and attract investment ahead of a planned return to civilian rule. Oil production, which accounts for roughly 40% of government revenues, has been declining for years as fields mature, pushing Gabon to diversify toward manganese mining — where it is among the world’s top producers — agriculture, and services. In that context, the 39% growth in corporate lending AFG reported, directed partly at government infrastructure projects, reflects the transitional government’s push to maintain public investment despite fiscal constraints. The CEMAC banking sector, regulated by COBAC, has historically been dominated by a small number of pan-African groups, with BGFIBank holding an outsized share of the Gabonese market. AFG Bank Gabon’s rapid balance sheet expansion — total assets up 37% in a single year — and a cost-to-income ratio of 42.53% that rivals the most efficient banks on the continent suggest the challenger dynamic is real, though the sharp rise in cost of risk at 61.41% is a signal worth watching as loan book growth at that pace typically takes two to three years to fully season.

Gabão, All Africa, Inglês

Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters

Success!