National Bank of Oman – Ratings Affirmed with a Stable Outlook

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 National Bank of Oman (NBO or the Bank) at ‘BBB-’ and ‘A3’, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed NBO’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) of ‘bb+’, Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating of ‘bbb-’ and Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of Moderate. The Outlook for the LT FCR and BSR is Stable.

NBO’s LT FCR is set one-notch above the BSR to reflect the moderate likelihood of extraordinary support from the Omani government. CI is of the opinion that the sovereign’s strengthened fiscal capacity is likely to ensure that moderate levels of government support will continue to be available to NBO (and the banking sector) in case of need.

The BSR and CFS rating reflect the Bank’s established business franchise and supportive shareholders, as well as its good market share…