Moody's may upgrade nine Saudi banks

Moody's Investors Service said it placed on review for possible upgrade the A3 long-term and Prime-2 short-term foreign-currency deposit ratings for nine Saudi Arabian banks: National Commercial Bank, Samba Financial Group, Al Rajhi Bank, Riyad Bank, The Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Arab National Bank, Saudi Hollandi Bank and The Saudi Investment Bank.

This rating action follows the agency's upgrade of Saudi Arabia's long-term and short-term foreign-currency bank deposit ceilings to A3 and Prime-2, respectively, to reflect improvements in the country's economic and financial situation.

Moody's noted that the foreign-currency deposit ratings of the nine banks had been set at the previous country ceilings of A3/Prime-2 based on the banks' fundamental strengths, as well as the strong likelihood of support from the Saudi Arabian authorities, should the need arise. According to Moody's, the likelihood of all nine Saudi banks being upgraded is very high.

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