Askari Bank – Outlook Revised to Negative

Askari Bank – Outlook Revised to Negative

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) has revised the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating ( LT FCR) and Bank Standalone Rating ( BSR) Outlook of Askari Bank Limited (ABL) to Negative from Stab l e. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed ABL’s LT FCR and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FCR) at ‘B-’ and ‘B’, respectively. ABL’s BSR of ‘b-’ and Core Financial Strength ( CFS ) rating of ‘b+’ have also been affirmed .

The revision of the Outlook reflects a change in CI’s internal assessment of sovereign credit risk for Pakistan to indicate increased sovereign risk and the more challenging operating environ ment . Pakistan’s external vulnerabilities have increased , including the rapid depletion of foreign exchange reserves , and the high current account deficit following the recent surge in international energy and food prices,…