Bank of Alexandria – Ratings Affirmed; CFS Raised

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 Bank of Alexandria S.A.E. (Alexbank) at ‘B’ and ‘B’, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed the Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) of ‘b’ and Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of High, but raised the Bank’s Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating to ‘bb+’ (from ‘bb’). The Outlook for the LT FCR and BSR remains Stable.

The Bank’s BSR of ‘b’ is derived from a raised CFS rating of ‘bb+’ and an Operating Environment Risk Anchor (OPERA) of ‘b’. The ESL of High is based on Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP) ownership. CI considers that the Italian parent has the capacity and willingness to provide extraordinary support to the Bank if needed. The LT FCR is however not notched up for this support as the Bank does not meet our criteria for being rated above Egypt’s sovereign…