Qatar Economic Review 2006(September) - QNB

QNB RatingsQNB is the highest rated bank in Qatar with the widest coverage and currently has a rating from Moody’s,Standard and Poor’s, Capital Intelligence, and Fitch.Table 1CapitalIntelligenceCredit ratingsfor QNBLong-TermForeign Currency Financial Strength Support Rating OutlookShort-termA+ A1 A+ 1 StableSource: Capital Intelligence.In September 2006, Capital Intelligence raised the Financial Strength Rating of QNB to A+, from A.Earlier, on August 25th, 2005 Capital Intelligence had raised QNB’s long-term foreign currency ratingto A+, from A- and short-term foreign currency rating to A1 from A2. This upgrade was following theAugust 9th Financial Strength Rating (FSR) upgrade to A, from A-. Capital Intelligence mentioned thatthe upgrade reflects the Bank’s strong fundamentals and its leading position in a fast growing economy.Capital Intelligence currently gives QNB the highest rating in Qatar, with a long-term foreign currencydeposit rating of ‘A+‘, and a support rating of ‘1’ (Table 1).Table 2:Moody’sCredit ratingsfor QNBLong-TermBank Deposits Financial Strength OutlookShort-TermA1 P-1 C- StableSource: Moody’s.On October 11th, 2005 Moody’s upgraded QNB’s long-term foreign currency bank deposit ratings bytwo notches to A1 from A3, and QNB’s short-term foreign currency bank deposit ratings to P-1 fromP-2 (Table 2). Moody’s mentioned that the ratings were set at the country ceiling and that the actionrecognises the bank’s importance within the domestic banking system.Table 3:Standard andPoor’s Creditratings forQNBLong-TermBank Credit and DepositsShort-termOutlookA A1 StableSource: Standard and Poor’s.On October 10th, 2005 Standard and Poor’s in its first interactive rating on a bank in Qatar assigneda long-term counterparty bank credit and deposit rating of ‘A’ and a short-term rating of ‘A1’ (Table 3).Standard and Poor’s stated that the ratings reflect QNB’s dominant position in Qatar, strong incomegenerated by high-quality earning assets, and solid liquidity and capital positions. Standard and Poor’salso made note of QNB’s importance to the economy.Table 4:Fitch Creditratings forQNBLong-Term Short-Term Support IndividualA- F2 1 B/CSource: Fitch.On February 7th, 2005 Fitch upgraded QNB’s Support Rating to ‘1’ from ‘2’ (Table 4), affirming allother ratings. Fitch mentioned that the upgrade in the support ratings reflects the support by the Qatariauthorities and the other ratings reflect the bank’s consistent profitability, sound asset quality, goodcapitalisation and adequate liquidity.QNB RATINGS 54