Afreximbank, set up in 1993 to promote intra-African trade, which has its headquarters in Cairo, is preparing legal proceedings against two Egyptian banks - Bank of Alexandria and Banque Misr - in a case that may colour relations between Egypt and a host of sub-Saharan African capitals.

According to documents circulated among shareholders, the Bank of Alexandria, under instructions from the Central Bank of Egypt, and Banque Misr defaulted in 2005 on loans worth $40m owed to Afreximbank, which has a mix of public and private shareholders from 34 African countries.