Qatar National Bank – 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 Qatar National Bank (QNB) at ‘AA’ and ‘A1+’, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed QNB’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) of ‘a-’, Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating of ‘a-’, and Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of Very High. The Outlook for all ratings remains Stable.

The Bank’s LT FCR is set four notches above the BSR to reflect the very high likelihood of extraordinary support from the government in case of need. This is based on the government’s strong track record of support for Qatari banks in general and for QNB in particular. At different points in time such support has included the transfer of ‘difficult investments’ to the state, the transfer of real estate loans, and the injection of additional equity. The government’s financial capacity to…