Moody's cuts Arab Banking

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded the foreign-currency deposit ratings of Arab Banking Corp. BSC to Baa3/prime-3 from A3/prime-2 and baseline credit assessment to Ba1 from Baa3.

The Baa3/prime-3 deposit rating remains on review for possible downgrade.

The downgrade was driven by the ongoing severe political crisis in Libya, which is majority owner of the bank through the Central Bank of Libya's 59% stake, Moody's said.

The highly volatile political situation raises material uncertainty regarding the availability of parental support from the Libyan authorities, notwithstanding their previous track record of providing support, the agency said.

The downgrade also reflects the pressure the bank is likely to face, given its association with its majority shareholder, Moody's said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.