Arab Bank plc – Ratings Affirmed

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FCR) of Arab Bank plc (AB) at ‘BB-’ and ‘B’, respectively. The LT FCR Outlook remains Stable. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed AB’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) of ‘bb-’ with a Stable Outlook, Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating of ‘bbb-’ and Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of Moderate.

The Bank’s BSR is derived from a CFS rating of ‘bbb-’ and an Operating Environment Risk Anchor (OPERA) of ‘bb-’ (indicating moderate risk), and is constrained by Jordan’s sovereign ratings (‘BB-’/‘B’/Stable). The likelihood of extraordinary support in the event of need is deemed to be moderate.  However, our ESL assessment does not result in any uplift for the Bank’s LT FCR because the BSR is already at Jordan’s sovereign rating level. While CI believes the willingness…