Ratings of Saudi Banks Updated After Sovereign Action

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has upgraded the Long-Term Foreign Currency Ratings (LT FCRs) of six Saudi Arabian banks and the Short-Term Foreign Currency Ratings (ST FCRs) of three. At the same time, the LT and ST FCRs of another two Saudi banks were affirmed at their current levels. The Bank Standalone Rating (BSRs) and Core Financial Strength (CFS) ratings of all eight banks were affirmed at their current levels, with each bank continuing to display solid financial fundamentals.

The bank rating upgrades follow CI Ratings’ upgrade of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign ratings to ‘AA-’/‘A1+’/Stable (from ‘A+’/‘A1’/Positive) in December 2024. The LT FCRs of the six banks that were upgraded had previously benefited from a two-notch uplift over standalone levels due to the high likelihood that official extraordinary support would be made available in the event of need. CI assesses that the capacity of the Saudi Arabian…