Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait – Rating Assigned to Tier 2 Subordinated Unsecured Bond (Up to KWD30mn)

27 November 2025

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has assigned a first-time issue rating of ‘BBB’ to the up to KWD30mn Basel III-compliant Tier 2 subordinated unsecured bond to be issued by Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK or the Bank). The Outlook assigned to the rating is Stable.

The issue rating is derived from: (i) ABK’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR); (ii) the bond’s contractual subordination to senior unsecured obligations; and (iii) CI Ratings’ view that the bond’s loss absorption mechanism is unlikely to be triggered before the Bank is non-viable on a standalone basis. CI’s issue ratings for bank hybrid securities and subordinated debt instruments (especially those with contingent capital features) capture impairment risk (which includes the likelihood of losses due to the activation of any loss-absorbing mechanisms), and repayment priority. CI typically uses a bank’s BSR as the starting point for such securities. This…