QIIB has announced that leading international credit rating agency Moody’s has affirmed the bank’s rating at ‘A2’ with a ‘stable’ outlook.
Moody’s affirmation comes shortly after Fitch’s affirmation of the bank’s rating at ‘A+’ with a ‘stable’ outlook and Capital Intelligence’s affirmation of the QIIB rating at ‘A-’ with a ‘positive’ outlook.
Moody’s action, QIIB said, was based on “many considerations” including the fact that the bank was among the oldest Islamic banks in Qatar and that it provides “distinguished” services, particularly in retail banking.
The bank also maintains “good” liquidity position, “high quality” assets that exceed $11bn as well as a “strong capital and profitability”.
Moody’s also highlighted the bank’s high-quality financing portfolio and said QIIB’s bad debt ratio remained within the limit set for such non-performing debts within Qatar’s banking system and lower than the globally prevailing and prescribed ratios among banks within the same category.
Moreover, the government support, when necessary, can help improve the rating, along with Qatar’s strong economy and the ongoing major infrastructure projects that support the economic growth in general, Moody’s noted.
QIIB chairman and managing director Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani said, “We are pleased to maintain strong indicators despite the latest economic developments that are related to oil prices and global market prices. This proves that the Qatari economy is strong and has all the fundamentals that can help it achieve more success. We, at QIIB, are part of this success and rely on our position in the county’s strong economy as well as on the growth factors available therein”.
He added: “The bank’s management is making considerable efforts, which improved the various indicators and budgetary items.”
QIIB CEO Abdulbasit Ahmed al-Shaibei stated, “Moody’s affirmation of QIIB rating is a landmark achievement in the bank’s current path. It clearly proves that bank’s financial position is stable, its strong contribution to national development continues and its implementation of the strategic and interim plans is fruitful”.
He said, “We are striving to constantly improve our indicators and achieve satisfactory growth rate so as to maximise shareholders’ equity. Thanks to the high quality of services we offer, we continue to satisfy the needs of our ever-expanding client base, to the best industry standards.”
The QIIB CEO said, “The bank’s continuous success and growth would not have been possible without the promising opportunities being provided by the Qatari economy, which is wisely managed in order to avoid all repercussions due to the turmoil and volatility in global markets.”
Al-Shaibei affirmed that QIIB would pursue the implementation of its plans and strategies at all levels and play its role fully in terms of financing different projects in various economic sectors in order to achieve more growth and improve the Bank’s financial position”.
QIIB was founded in 1990 as the second Islamic bank in Qatar and is currently the third-largest bank in terms of assets and market value. It began operations in 1991 and is listed on the Qatar Exchange.