DOHA: International credit ratings agency Moody’s has affirmed QIIB’s rating at ‘A2’ with a ‘stable’ outlook.
Moody’s affirmation of QIIB’s rating came shortly after Fitch’s affirmation of the Bank’s rating at ‘A+’ with a ‘stable’ outlook and Capital Intelligence’s affirmation of the Bank’s rating at ‘A-‘ with a ‘positive’ outlook.
Moody’s affirmation was based on many considerations including the fact that the bank is among the oldest Islamic banks in Qatar and it provides distinguished services, particularly in retail banking. The bank also maintains good liquidity, high quality assets that exceed $11bn as well as a strong capital and profitability.
Moody’s also highlighted the Bank’s high-quality financing portfolio, and said QIIB’s bad debt ratio remained within the limit set for such non-performing debts within the Qatar’s banking system and lower than the globally prevailing and prescribed ratios among banks within the same category.
Moreover, the government support, when necessary, can help improve the rating, along with Qatar’s strong economy and the ongoing major infrastructure projects that support the economic growth in general, Moody’s noted.
Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, QIIB Chairman and Managing Director, commented: “We are pleased to maintain strong indicators despite the latest economic developments that are related to oil prices and global market prices. This proves that the Qatari economy is strong and has all the fundamentals that can help it achieve more success. We, at QIIB, are part of this success and we rely on our position in the county’s strong economy as well as on the growth factors available therein”.
He added: “The bank’s management is making considerable efforts, which improved the various indicators and budgetary items. We hope that the bank will maintain this performance and achieve more growth in order to serve the various economic sectors that we closely work with, and further benefit from Qatar’s economic boom”.
Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei, QIIB CEO, stated, “Moody’s affirmation is a landmark achievement in the Bank’s current path. It clearly proves that Bank’s financial position is stable, its strong contribution to national development continues and its implementation of the strategic and interim plans is fruitful.
We are striving to constantly improve our indicators and achieve satisfactory growth rate so as to maximize the shareholders’ equity. Thanks to the high quality of services we offer, we continue to satisfy the needs of our ever-expanding client base, to the best industry standards.”
The Peninsula
