Commercial Bank of Kuwait – Subordinated Tier 2 Basel III Compliant Bond Ratings Affirmed

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed the ‘BBB’ issue ratings assigned to the two KWD50mn subordinated unsecured bonds issued by Commercial Bank of Kuwait (ComBk or the Bank) under its KWD100mn Subordinated Tier 2 Basel III-compliant Bond Programme.

In a separate rating action also published today, CI Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FCR) of ComBk at ‘A+’ and ‘A1’, respectively. Both ComBk’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) and Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating have been affirmed at ‘bbb+’. The Outlook on the LT FCR and BSR remains Stable.

The issue ratings for Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 of the subordinated bond programme are derived from: (i) ComBk’s BSR; (ii) the Bond’s contractual subordination to senior unsecured obligations; and (iii) CI’s view that the Bond’s loss absorption mechanism is unlikely to be triggered before the…