National Bank of Kuwait – Ratings Affirmed

Ref: KW 00 8 2 2 CRA00- 01 27 April 202 3

National Bank of Kuwait – Ratings Affirmed

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed the L ong- T erm Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR ) and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating ( ST FCR ) of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) at ‘A+’ and ‘A1’, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed NBK’s B ank Standalone Rating (BS R ) of ‘a-’, Core Financial Strength ( CFS ) rating of ‘a-’, and Extraordinary Support Level ( ESL ) of Very High. The Outlook for the LT FCR and BSR remains Stable.

The two-notch uplift of the LT FCR above the BSR is based on the very high extraordinary support. The ESL takes into account the Bank’s systemic importance (as the second largest in the country), the Kuwaiti government’s strong track record of providing assistance to banks in the event of need, the…