Bahrain – Ratings Affirmed with a Stable Outlook

2 October 2026

Rating Action

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed Bahrain’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and LT Local Currency Rating (LT LCR) at ‘B’. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed the sovereign’s Short-Term FCR (ST FCR) and ST LCR at ‘B’. The Outlook for the ratings remains Stable.

Rating Drivers

The affirmation of the ratings reflects CI’s expectation that Bahrain will continue to be supported by Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries, and that such assistance will mitigate risks associated with very high government and external financing needs and limited foreign reserve adequacy. The ratings are supported by Bahrain’s high GDP per capita and reasonable level of economic diversification, particularly compared to regional oil exporting peers. CI notes that the long maturity structure of central government external debt is also considered a supporting factor for the ratings.

The…